


Original Model

by TRDowden



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: Gen, Haven AU - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 09:00:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 48,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6698416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TRDowden/pseuds/TRDowden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A woman from Haven's past, Prudence Stillwater, washes ashore after 500 years of being sealed in a metal box at the bottom of the ocean. Vince, Dave and Dwight find out that not only is she a Crocker, she's THE Crocker--the first to be Troubled in the family lineage. She tells them she can cure Troubles WITHOUT killing! But Prudence isn't here to help...she's here for revenge...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

** 1 **

 

Bill Crombie was walking the narrow spit of beach that ran parallel to his shack.  
The Nor'Easter that had blown through Haven had been a fierce one; the beach was littered with debris and seaweed, the ocean tossing back remnants of old boats, trash, and other assorted detritus.  
He peered into the distance, and noticed a large object half-buried in a clump of seaweed, some fifty yards away.  
Bill drew closer, and as he neared the object, he realized that it was a large metal chest of some kind.  
It looked incredibly old; there were layers of barnacles attached here and there, and the metal was scored with deep scratches, as though it had been chained down.  
Bill's heart quickened. He, like many Havenites, had heard the stories of pirates burying their treasure around this area, and he hurried over to the box, and put his hands on it.  
The box appeared to have no opening, as though it were solid, and on trying to move it, Bill found that it was impossible to do so; as he presumed from the heft of it, it had to weigh close to a ton.  
"Hey, Mackie!" he hollered in the direction of the fishing shack. "Get down here and see this!"  
A gray-haired man poked his head out of the back door.  
"Whatcha got?" he called down to the beach.  
"It's some kinda treasure chest!" Bill called. "Bring the truck down, it's too heavy ta drag!"  
The man disappeared back inside the house, and came out of the front door, before jumping into his truck.

* * *

  
Further up the shore, Vince and Dave Teagues were also out on the beach, surveying the damage wrought by the Nor'Easter for the daily edition of The Haven Herald.  
"Storm did a number on the place, that's for certain," Vince remarked as they walked along the beach.  
"Good thing Marion's out of town, or people'd be blaming her for it," Dave replied. He squinted, seeing the commotion further along the beach, watching as Mack Rebben's truck backed along the sand toward Bill, who was directing him, before calling out to stop.  
"Well, looks like Bill and Mack's found something to salvage," Vince said.  
"Let's go see," Dave answered, curious as to what the two men were examining.

* * *

  
"It's old, innit?" Mack was saying to Bill as the Teagues approached.  
"What'd you find, fellas?" Dave called.  
"It's _ours_ , whatever it is," Bill said pointedly. He thumped the box for emphasis, and the metal emitted a strange high-pitched cry, that was almost like the distant wail of a woman, and all four men shivered involuntarily, silent as the sound faded away.  
"Eerie," Dave remarked.  
A faint memory stirred in Vince's mind, something about a metal box, but he couldn't recall it. He shrugged it off, and watched as Mack and Bill struggled to get the chain hooked into the large ring on the end.  
"What do you think it is? Blackbeard's Treasure?" Mack puffed, finally succeeding in getting the chain fastened on. He climbed back into his truck, and after a few moments, the old Dodge roared to life.  
"Blackbeard never sailed these waters, far as I know," Vince said. "But there's always been stories about pirates treasure buried around Haven."  
"I remember we used to go digging every summer along Nanagasset Bay," Dave grinned. "Only thing we ever found was clams and some old bottles."  
"Awright, start 'er up, Mack," Bill called, ignoring Dave's reminisces.  
Mack threw the truck in Drive and the chain pulled taut, the metal box steadily refusing to move.  
"Give it the gas!" Bill yelled at him.  
"I _am_ givin' it the gas!" Mack hollered, his foot practically flat on the floorboard of the truck. Whatever this thing was, it had to weigh close to four tons--it had to be full of pirate loot!  
He and Bill were so preoccupied by the thought of Spanish doubloons dancing through their heads, they didn't notice the chain being straightened out.  
"Bill, look out!" Dave shouted at him, seeing the chain nearing its snapping point and he and Vince darted out of the way as it snapped, the tension too much for it, and it whistled as it came right at Bill, who threw his arm up to shield himself.  
The chain slashed through his heavy coat, ripping deep into his arm, and Bill cried out, falling against the box, his arm gushing red.  
Vince and Dave hurried toward him. Vince could see bone through the coat, and he helped Bill tuck his arm against him.  
"Call an ambulance," Vince gasped, as Dave ran toward the house to get a first-aid kit.  
Mack climbed out of the truck, stunned.  
"What the hell is that thing?" he goggled. "That chain woulda pulled an eighty-foot fishing boat with no problem!"  
"We'll worry about what it is after we get Bill to the hospital," Vince said.  
"What--about--the box?" Bill said through gritted teeth.

"I'll call Dwight to watch it. Nobody's going to take it, I promise," Vince assured him. He cast a look at the box again, his brow furrowed. Bill's blood had been all over that box--now it was gone. It hadn't run off onto the sand either, he noted. There was only one place it could have gone--into the box. He knew Bill was Troubled--which meant that box had reacted to his blood somehow. He would definitely have to be in archives when he returned home.

* * *

Once the ambulance had carried Bill and Mack off to the hospital, Dwight headed over to the box, and he, Vince and Dave gathered around it. It had changed since he and Dave had first seen it, Vince noted. Before, its top had been smooth, with no visible openings. Now, there appeared to be a narrow seam that ran the length of the top.  
"So you're saying this is different than when you first saw it?" Dwight questioned.  
"Yes--you couldn't see any way to open it," Vince replied. "But when Bill's blood hit it, this appeared. You know Bill's Troubled himself."  
"Yeah--and anything like that usually means a Trouble itself," Dwight noted.  
"Yes it does," Dave said. "But a Troubled _box_?"  
"I don't think it's the box itself that's Troubled," Vince said. That memory he'd had earlier had become a little clearer now. "I think it's what's in the box--or rather, _who_ is in the box."  
"You think this is some kind of coffin?" Dwight said. He poked and prodded at the box to try to find a lever or button to open it, but found no success.  
"Who do you think is in there, Vince?" Dave asked.  
"If this is what I'm thinking it is," Vince said slowly, surveying the box. "Then this is the casket of Prudence Stillwater."  
"Prudence Stillwater?" Dwight said skeptically. "That's just a story, right?"  
"And how many Troubles in Haven were 'just stories?" Vince asked him, and Dwight nodded.  
"Haven's only known witch," Dave said. "This _is_ a story."  
Vince had a sudden hunch, and he turned to Dwight.  
"Lend me your knife a moment," he said.  
Dwight handed him the blade, and Vince nicked his thumb, wincing slightly.  
"Vince, what are you doing?" Dwight protested. "You don't know what's in there!"  
"If my hunch is right, we'll find out in a minute," Vince told him, and ran his bloodied thumb along the seam in the top of the box.  
The blood seeped into the seam, and after a few moments, it became more pronounced and Dwight noted a small indentation located at the top of the seam and he pressed it.  
There was a grinding, creaking sound of metal long since unmoved and then the seam widened, splitting into two panels which slid open into the box.  
At first, it appeared to be a mass of moldering rags; and Vince cautiously stretched out a hand, moving them aside.  
The three could see the face of a woman through the old muslin shroud that covered her.  
Vince and Dave finished uncovering her, revealing a slender, dark-haired woman who looked to have been in her thirties.  
"I can't believe she's this well-preserved," Dave gasped. "This thing must have been air and water tight. Look, her clothes are still intact."  
"Early Colonial period, from the look of them," Vince remarked, studying her face. She'd been quite beautiful, from what he could see beneath her anguished expression, and he took in the gashes in the muslin, the rust-colored streaks that stained it, her ragged nails, her eyes closed tightly, the lines of pain in her face.  
"Dear God, they put her in here _alive_ ," he said compassionately. "She tried to claw her way out."  
"She was probably Troubled, not a witch," Dwight put in. "Either way, she deserves a proper burial," he finished, and Vince and Dave nodded.  
Vince carefully laid the ancient gauze back over the woman in the box before straightening up.  
"What do you want to do with her? Take her to the morgue? I imagine the Haven Historical Society would like to have a look at her too," Dwight said. "Gloria's on that board-she'll have a field day with the body of an actual Colonial."  
Vince looked back toward the woman. He couldn't swear to it, but it looked as though the gauze over her face was moving, as though she were-- _breathing_?  
He bent back over to her, uncovering her face, and gingerly touched her skin. It was icy-cold and clammy to the touch.  
"What's the matter?" Dave asked.  
"Nothing--just wind playing tricks, I suppose," Vince muttered. "Take her to the morgue, Dwight. But no autopsy. Just have Gloria hold onto her while we try to find out who she is."  
"You said she's probably Prudence Stillwater!" Dave said.  
"I said _maybe_ she was. We'll look in the archives and see what we can find out about this--thing," he gestured at the box.  
Dwight bent down to gently lift the woman from the box--and she _moaned_.  
"Sweet Mary!" Dave exclaimed, falling back.  
Dwight gasped, dropping her back into the box, his mouth gaping open.  
The woman moaned again, stirring.  
"She's _alive_ ," Vince breathed. He found himself, and moved the gauze from her face once more.  
The woman cried out, covering her face with her arms, wailing, and Vince understood.  
"The light's hurting her eyes," Vince said, and quickly wound some of the gauze around her eyes, gently helping her to sit up.  
"Can you stand?" he asked her.  
The woman tried, but her legs were too weak, and she sank back down.  
Dwight and Vince gently lifted her out of the box, and sat her down on the sand next to it.  
Dwight's mind was reeling. Here was a woman who was more folklore than fact in Haven's history, its only known victim of the witch trials that had taken place back then, and she was _alive_.  
The woman moved her mouth, trying to speak.  
"Who--are--you, sir?" she croaked, barely audible.  
"My name is Vincent Teagues," Vince told her. "This is my brother, Dave. And our Chief of Police, Dwight Hendrickson," he went on.  
"Where--am--I?"  
"You're in Haven, Maine," Dave said, and her face tightened with apprehension.  
"Have you come to arrest me again, Constable?" she asked.  
"No, no," Dwight assured her hastily. "We're here to help. What's your name?" he asked, even though all three men were fairly certain of what her answer would be.  
"My name is Prudence Stillwater," the woman answered in her faint voice. "What is the date, good sir?"  
"It's October twelfth," Vince said softly. "October 12, 2015."  
"Five hundred years," she got out faintly. "I was in there for five hundred years."  
Dwight and Vince helped her to her feet, guiding her towards his truck.  
"Take her to our fishing shack, it's just up the way," Vince directed. "We'll finish up here, and then we'll be along shortly. See that she's made comfortable."  
Dwight nodded agreement, and helped her into the truck. He hoped her clothes would hold together--every movement she made, he could hear small tears in the aged fabric as it gave way.  
"What is this?" Prudence questioned, feeling the leather seats, the glass in the windows. "What sort of prison is this?"  
"It's not a prison, it's a truck," Dwight told her.  
"Truck," she repeated, unfamiliar with the word.  
"It's a vehicle--a horseless carriage," he replied, remembering his history lessons.  
"How very peculiar," Prudence murmured. She startled slightly when Dwight turned the ignition, the truck rumbling to life beneath them.  
"It has a smooth gait, your horseless carriage," Prudence noted. She was becoming more accustomed to the light now, and she slowly uncovered her eyes, turning them on Dwight, and she smiled slightly.  
Dwight was surprised--her eyes were a silvery blue--the same color as Crocker's eyes when Troubled blood touched him! Where his faded away after a few moments, hers seemed to be her actual eye color.  
"Is something the matter?" Prudence asked.  
"No--you have very unusual eyes," Dwight got out. "Miss--Mrs.--"  
"It is Mistress Stillwater," Prudence replied, her smile fading. "Although I suspect I may be widowed by this time," she trailed off, the reality of her situation settling on her, and tears filled her eyes, spilling over down her pale cheeks. Dwight stopped the truck, and sat quietly  while she cried, his face sympathetic.   
"My babies are dust in their graves," she whispered. "All those I loved are long gone."  
Dwight gently touched her hand. They didn't cover how to be sympathetic to people who'd come back to life after 500 years in the academy, and this was an all-time first for Haven--unless you counted Audrey.  
"Are you Troubled, Mrs. Stillwater?" Dwight asked suddenly.  
Prudence laughed faintly. "I was just pulled from an iron casket after 500 years of being submerged in the ocean and you ask if I am Troubled."  
"That's your Trouble--you can't die," Dwight said as they pulled to a stop in front of Dave and Vince's fishing shack.  
"I cannot die," Prudence repeated. "Oh, believe me, sir, the good citizenry of Haven did their utmost to make me do so," she continued, her voice gaining an edge. "But all their efforts failed."  
"Well, you won't be punished for being Troubled anymore," Dwight promised. "Things have changed in Haven since then. I myself am Troubled."  
"Things have indeed changed in Haven if the Troubled are allowed to become Chief Constable," Prudence noted.  
Vince and Dave arrived a few minutes later, and Dwight and Vince helped her inside the fishing shack. After Vince showed her how to work the hot and cold faucets for the bathtub and Dave procured some old clothes, they busied themselves with making tea and some canned soup.  
"Did you find out anything from her?" Vince asked Dwight as he poured the tea into the teapot.  
"Just that she's Troubled. She says she can't die, that's her Trouble," Dwight told him.  
"If she lived 500 years ago, then that means she was there when the Troubles began," Vince murmured. "Mara may have Troubled her personally, for all we know."  
"So maybe letting her meet Audrey might not be a good idea just now," Dwight muttered.  
"I agree. We shall keep Madam Stillwater a secret between ourselves for now," Vince finished as the bathroom door clicked, and Prudence emerged, clad in the clothing Dave had gotten for her.  
She looked remarkably better--her skin had gone from clammy gray to an olive complexion, her long dark hair tumbling down her back, still damp from the bath.  
Prudence looked down at herself, rubbing her hands on her pants legs. She had a trim figure, nicely endowed in all right places, and Dwight felt a bit of an attraction to her.  
"Breeches," she said. "It is the first I have ever worn them. It's rather pleasant."  
"Many of the women of today wear them," Vince smiled. "Will you take tea, Madam Stillwater?"  
"If you have it, that would be lovely," Prudence answered gratefully. She sank gracefully onto a chair, and Vince poured the tea into a china cup and saucer, which Prudence picked up, holding them delicately in her hands, and she sipped it gingerly.   
"I know you have been through a terrible ordeal," Vince began gently. "But if you would, and you feel up to it--will you tell us how you came to be in that situation?"  
Prudence gently set her cup and saucer down on the table, the china not even clinking. She folded and unfolded her long delicate fingers a few times, thinking over what to say or not say, and she sighed deeply, looking up at them.  
"I lived in Haven with my husband Daniel and my two children, Elizabeth and Samuel," she began. "My husband worked with my father as an apprentice silversmith."  
She thought a moment. "Daniel tried to be many things--a farmer, a fisherman, a clerk, a silversmith. He had a good heart--but not much knack for anything," she went on. "He came from a wealthy family. However, his father did not approve of our marriage and disinherited him. He felt our family had too--tarnished--a reputation."  
"What was your maiden name?" Vince asked.  
"My maiden name was Crocker," Prudence replied.  
"Figures," Dwight muttered.  
Prudence turned her silvery eyes on him. "Why would you say that, Constable? Do Crockers still live on in Haven?"  
"We've got one, and he's enough," Dwight said. "His name's Duke Crocker--I guess he'd probably be your great-great-grandson or nephew or something."  
"Duke," Prudence chuckled. "Rather an odd choice of name considering that Crockers were practically thrown out of England because of my grandfather's dalliances with the Duke of Glastonbury's wife."  
"Why am I not surprised?" Dave muttered, and Dwight grinned slightly.   
“But, please, Prudence, continue,” Vince urged gently.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

 

"You were accused of witchcraft," Vince said as delicately as he could. "Was that because of your Trouble?"  
Prudence smiled ruefully.  
"Somewhat," she answered truthfully. "I am afraid I had always been on the edge of suspicion even before then. I was a healer and herbalist," she went on. "There is Mik'Maq in our family lineage--my grandfather was a shaman, and he taught me their ways--their magic."  
"When did--" Dave asked.  
"When was I formally accused?" Prudence finished for him. "It began after _they_ came into Haven," she said with not a small amount of heat in her voice. "People began to be ill in ways I had never seen before."  
"The Troubles started," Dwight put in. "Mara and William showed up."  
Prudence's face showed her anger at the mention of their names.  
"Do you mean to say those minions of Satan are still _here_?" she asked, her voice strained.  
"No. William was cast back into the void, and Mara--"  
"She is still here then," Prudence nodded, her face grim.  
"Um--yes and no," Dwight added.  
Prudence looked skeptical. "Well, which is it, man, yes or no, it cannot be both," she told him sternly.  
"We'll try and explain it as best we can," Vince added quickly. "But please, Prudence--finish your story, and then we can discuss it."  
Prudence settled back into her chair, and drew a few calming breaths before she began her story again.  
"As I said, people had become ill with these--afflictions," she went on. "I tried to treat them with conventional medicines, with no success, and finally, in a moment of desperation, I tried something that my grandfather had shown me--and it worked."  
"You cured a Trouble?" Dave gaped. "How did you do it?"  
"I cannot explain it, not in any way I could tell you. But I could show you, perhaps. You said that you were Troubled, Dwight," Prudence continued, turning toward him. "What is your Trouble, precisely?"  
"I'm a bullet magnet--if a gun goes off a hundred yards around me, the bullet comes towards me," Dwight told her. "That's why I wear this," he gestured at the flak vest.  
"She is a devil, that one," Prudence muttered. "This is a strange request to make, Dwight, but could you inflict a small cut on your hand?"  
"So your Trouble is like Crocker's," Dwight said.  
"What do you mean?"  
"When your--descendant--touches Troubled blood, his eyes turn silver, the same color as your eyes."  
"No doubt they thought that an amusing touch," Prudence remarked dryly. "But he can only cure the Trouble through killing someone though, is that correct?"  
Vince, Dave and Dwight all nodded.  
"I thought as much. William informed me of that the night before I was shut into that box, that they had--altered--my family's ability to cure the curses he and his woman had inflicted, that the only way the Crockers could cure from then on would be to kill someone of an accursed person's family."  
She exhaled, hard. "I had continued to treat the afflicted in secret as best I could. Some I could help--others I could not," Prudence went on in her gentle voice. "And then Haven gained a new minister," she added. "The righteous Reverend Amos Flagg."  
"I once saw a bulletin about him--that he was one of those witches-are-everywhere types," Dave said.  
"He was a hateful, vengeful man who dared to masquerade as a Christian, who rained fire and brimstone with every sermon he preached, that we were all doomed to die a fiery death, unless we renounced our sins," Prudence stated firmly. "He declared himself a finder of witches. He had come to Haven to save it from the accursed and inflicted, and to find the source of the evil."  
"That sounds familiar," Dwight grumbled. "And you were accused."  
"Not straight away--suspected, yes, but so were half the women of Haven," Prudence said. "I suspect the good reverend hated the fairer sex." She sipped her tea, and then spoke again.  
"Mara and William found out that I was curing people's affliction," she went on. "She ordered me to stop. But I was determined to stand up to her. Little did I realize how outmatched I was," Prudence grimaced. "I told her that I would tell the reverend that she was the cause of the miseries of Haven, which would make short work of her and her companion. To which William grabbed my arm, and said that I would have a hard time proving it when I would be accused of witchery myself."  
Prudence took another sip of her tea, glancing at her audience's faces, who were listening raptly.  
"I thought it only a bluff," she said. "But a few days later, I was marketing in the town square when William appeared from a group of men talking on the green and pointed at me, saying, 'Prudence Stillwater, I accuse you of witchcraft' in a voice loud enough to be heard on the mountains. The Reverend Flagg also happened to be there. He asked William if he could prove his accusation. William stated that he could, and then he drew his pistol and fired it at me. The shot hit me in the chest, and I fell."  
"But you didn't die," Vince said softly.  
"No, I did not. I should have, it was a mortal wound, and yet after a few minutes, I opened my eyes and stood up. My clothes were bloody, but there was no wound in my chest. Needless to say, it was all the proof Reverend Flagg and the council needed to accuse me of being in league with the Devil. He proclaimed me to being the cause of the Troubles, and I was arrested on the spot."  
"The people tried you for witchcraft," Dave said. "And found you guilty."  
"You should have heard the stories that were told about me in that mockery of a trial," Prudence replied. "That I ate children, that I'd been seen dancing naked with devils, that I was cavorting with other women's husbands," her voice broke. "My own Daniel saw his chance to get back into his family's good graces and told his father that I had seduced him into marriage through magic; and my children were treated as pariahs. On All Hallow's Eve in 1515, I was marched to the gallows and a rope placed around my neck. The order was given, and I fell through the trapdoor. And again, I failed to die," Prudence got out, tears streaking her face. "This threw the town into a frenzy--they tried to stab me, shoot me, they tried to burn me at the stake in front of my children," she cried, Vince taking her hand in his compassionately. "But all of their efforts failed. William was the one who came up with the solution to their problem," she sniffled. "To lock me in the metal box he had, and to cast me into the sea, never to be seen again. And that is what they did with me."  
"How truly awful," Vince said sincerely. "I can't imagine what you have been through."  
Prudence wiped her eyes, straightening up in her chair.  
"It is all in the past now," she replied softly. "But if Mara still be here, so do the miseries she inflicted upon this town. I will do what I can to fight her."  
"But your family's Trouble was altered," Dave pointed out. "A-and Mara doesn't technically exist anymore--only Audrey does now."  
"My family's curse was altered--but not mine," Prudence told him.  
"If you're the first Crocker to be Troubled, then it should work as it did before the alterations were made," Vince observed.  
"I am not certain if I can completely cure someone anymore. I am long out of practice, I fear. However, I am willing to try if you will allow me to, Constable."  
Dwight took his knife out once more, and made a small cut on his thumb.  
Prudence reached out, and took his hand in hers, pressing his bloodied thumb against her palm. She gasped, jerking slightly, and for a moment, they were afraid she was going into seizures. Vince reached for her, but she stopped him.  
"No, do not--I am all right," she gasped. "Don't touch me, I could accidentally transfer it to you."  
Vince backed away, Dave giving her and Dwight a wide berth as he watched.  
"Prudence, if it's hurting you, stop," Dwight urged.  
"So much pain this has caused you," she got out. "My discomfort will last but a few moments. Yours has lasted long enough." She clung tightly to Dwight's hand. At length, she stopped shaking, and let go of his hand.  
"How do you feel, Dwight?" Vince asked.  
"I don't feel any different," Dwight said. "But I didn't feel any different when my Trouble began either, till I was hit in Afghanistan."  
"There's one way to know for certain," Dave pointed out, holding up a small revolver.

* * *

  
A short time later, Dwight entered Haven PD, a large grin spreading across his face.  
"Looks like you're feeling chipper today," Nathan observed as he came to get he and Audrey coffees.  
"I feel great," Dwight beamed.  
"Hey, what was all that about a big box that washed up on shore on the scanner?" Nathan asked.  
"Ah, it turned out to be an old ship's toolbox," Dwight answered, giving the answer Vince and Dave had cooked up. "Old Mack and Bill really thought they had something, but it wasn't. We told Bill he and Mack could always sell 'em on Ebay," he chuckled.  
"Dwight, I don't think I've ever seen you in this good a mood," Nathan half-smiled. "Can you tell or is it some big secret?"  
"For now, it's a secret," Dwight answered. "But if I'm right, then things are going to change in Haven, Nathan. For the better."  
"That is good news," Nathan replied, now wildly curious.  
Dwight clapped him on the shoulder and exited the break room, whistling.  
Nathan had just finished pouring he and Audrey's coffees and was just heading back to the office when it dawned on him that Dwight hadn't been wearing his flak vest.  
He glanced back wildly down the corridor where Dwight had gone into his office.  
"Something the matter?" Audrey asked from her desk.  
"I don't know," Nathan answered, his face concerned. "You know that feeling you get when there's a Trouble and nobody else knows it's a Trouble?"  
"Yes," Audrey replied, getting up and coming to the door.  
"I kind of have that feeling right now," Nathan said.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

 

Duke Crocker had stopped off at the local drug store to pick up a "Happy Birthday From All of Us" card for one of the servers who was working on her birthday.  
He was trying to decide between a funny one or one of a more sincere nature when he heard Vince and Dave Teagues talking on the next aisle, and they were discussing-- _feminine products_?  
Curious, Duke stretched up, his lanky height allowing him to see over the top of the shelving, and he watched for a moment as the pair seemed to have a basket full of brushes, hair ties, and other assorted toiletries all geared towards women.  
"Do you think she'd like this one?" Dave was asking Vince regarding a body lotion.  
"You have to remember Dave, she is unaccustomed to--all of this," Vince was saying. "She thinks that hot water coming out of a faucet inside the house is nothing short of a miracle. She won't know what to do with half of this stuff. Maybe we should consult Gloria on--instructing her about using these things."  
"Aren't you boys on the wrong aisle for grooming items?" Duke asked from the other side of the shelving.  
"We're--doing an article," Vince defended. "What it takes to be a woman of today, as compared to say, a hundred years ago."  
"Uh-huh," Duke said, not at all convinced. "And who is this 'her' that you two keep referring to?"  
"Eavesdropping's a bad habit, Duke," Vince scolded.  
"But sometimes a useful one," Duke smiled sweetly back.  
Dave was nudging Vince, and the two had a whispered conversation, and kept glancing at Duke. Finally, Vince nodded, and turned back towards him.  
"Duke--can you keep a secret?" he asked.  
"Not as well as you two, but yeah, I can," Duke replied.  
"We want you to come out to our fishing shack, to meet someone," Vince told him.  
"Ah, this mysterious lady friend who's never seen hot water from a tap," Duke grinned. "Who is she?"  
"Actually, she is a relation of yours," Vince informed him.  
Duke looked surprised. "Mine? Who is she?"  
"It'd be best if you came and met her for yourself. I don't want to discuss it here," Vince finished in a whisper. "Come out to our fishing shack. But don't tell Nathan and Audrey about it. Not just yet, anyway."  
Duke's curiosity was piqued, to say the least. Vince and Dave not wanting to let Audrey and Nathan know about something they were doing was nothing new; but to take _him_ into their confidence was a first. He wracked his brains, trying to remember any female relatives from his childhood, but was coming up blank. There hadn't been many female Crockers; and all the ones he'd known were dead.  
A thought hit him, and his face soured.  
"It's not my mother, is it?"  
"No, it is not your mother," Vince said. "Just come alone to our fishing shack in an hour or so."  
"All right," Duke answered. "I'll be there."

* * *

 

"What do you mean, 'you have that feeling there's a Trouble?" Audrey asked Nathan.  
"Dwight was not wearing his flak vest," Nathan stated.  
Audrey looked surprised. Dwight was religious about wearing that vest--with his Trouble, he couldn't be too careful.  
"Are you sure? Maybe he has it on under his shirt," Audrey said, peering down the hall towards Dwight's office.  
"No, it's not under his shirt. He's not wearing it," Nathan said, and the two of them walked down the hallway, and knocked at Dwight's office door.  
Dwight grinned at them both.  
"What's up?" he asked.  
"I was going to ask you that, Dwight," Audrey said. "You seem to be missing something today."  
Dwight glanced down at himself. "Oh, that. No, I took it off," he went on, leaning back in his chair, his arms behind his head, enjoying finally being able to do that without his heavy vest impeding the movement. "I don't think I'm going to be needing that anymore."  
"Your Trouble stopped?" Audrey goggled. "How? When?"  
Dwight leaned forward, looking at them earnestly.  
"I want to tell you guys, I do," he began. "But right now, I can't say anything. I promised, and I do my best to keep my word, you know that."  
"Did someone--take your Trouble, like that Haskell kid did a couple years ago?" Nathan questioned. The short time he'd been able to feel had been a luxury to him. But Jackie's Trouble had been far worse than his, and he'd sacrificed being rid of his own Trouble forever so that she could be free of hers.  
"In a way," Dwight conceded. "Right now, there are things we need to sort out first, but like I told you, Nathan, if it all works out, maybe Haven will finally be able to live up to its name--forever. But I can't say anything for right now. Please respect that."  
Audrey nodded her agreement. She determined she'd get hold of Duke and see if he could nose around.  
"All right," Nathan grudged. He and Audrey left the office, and returned to theirs.  
"What do you think?" Nathan asked her.  
"I think we should get Duke to poke around," Audrey answered, taking out her phone. "And before you say anything, Duke can get around and ask questions without looking like he's asking questions."

"Whatever," Nathan grumbled. Audrey made a face at him, and waited for Duke to answer his phone.

* * *

  
Out at the fishing shack, Gloria was finishing her examination of Prudence, who sat patiently while Gloria poked and prodded.  
Gloria hadn't believed Vince and Dave at first, that this was really Prudence Stillwater; but after hearing Prudence's account, and seeing the box and clothes, she was soon convinced.  
"I have so many questions for you," Gloria said, barely able to contain her excitement at being in the presence of a living Pre-Colonial woman. She'd taken a few strands of Prudence's hair, and the clothes she'd been wearing when she was found were in an heirloom box, bound for the restorer's.  
"And I also have many questions," Prudence answered. She glanced around them, looking at the overhead lights. "David has told me about the e-lec-tri-city that makes the lanterns light," she went on. "I have seen the black box with the little man trapped inside that speaks about the news," she pointed at the TV. "And also the glass-doored oven that cooks food as if by magic."

Gloria looked puzzled at her statement.

"The microwave," Dave grinned.   
"Oh, kid, if I didn't have a microwave, the hubs and I would starve to death," Gloria half-grinned.  
"And you are a doctor?" Prudence asked.  
"I'm a coroner, but yes, I have a medical degree," Gloria replied.  
"Most amazing," Prudence remarked. "So, what cures do you use to work against fevers and smallpox? The season is upon us, you know."  
Gloria was stunned. In Prudence's time, summer and fall meant outbreaks of smallpox, polio and tropical fevers.  
"We don't have to worry about those diseases anymore, Prudence," Gloria told her. "We have vaccines, or medicines now--polio, smallpox, Tuberculosis, or what you would have called consumption--they've been eradicated in most parts of the world now."  
"How wonderful," Prudence smiled.  
Gloria shook her head. "I guess you do have a lot to learn about The New World. Did you come from Europe on a ship?"  
"No, I was born here. My father sailed over with his family, and met my mother, who was Mik'Maq. They married and had myself and two brothers, Josiah and Ezra Crocker."  
"Did you tell Duke about her yet?" Gloria asked.  
"I have asked him to come out to meet her," Vince said.  
He procured a stack of books from a bag. "I brought these for you, Prudence," he went on, handing her the books. "I borrowed these from the school, so that you can read about all the things that have happened in the last 500 years or so. You can--read and write?" he asked, anxious now that Prudence wouldn't be able to read them.  
"Oh, yes, I can read and write. I am well-educated for the time I came from," Prudence told him. "And thank you, Vincent," Prudence said, glancing through them. "You have been most kind to me."  
They heard the sound of a truck pulling up outside.  
"That'll be Duke," Vince said, checking to see that he was indeed correct, and saw Duke climbing out of his truck, looking at his phone.  
"The Duke that you spoke of earlier," Prudence said.  
"Yes. As close as we can figure out, he's your seventeenth-generational great-grandson, from your son Samuel's line," Dave replied. "Your children abandoned the Stillwater name and took on your maiden name instead."  
Duke tucked his phone back into his shirt pocket. He'd gotten Audrey's message about Dwight's sudden 'cure'--and he wondered if it had anything to do with Vince and Dave's mystery house guest relative of his. He'd promised the Teagues that he wouldn't tell Nate and Audrey, but at the same time, he'd promised Audrey that he'd find out what he could.  
"Guess I'll find out one way or another in a minute," Duke said to himself as he knocked on the fishing shack door. Vince opened it, glancing behind Duke to see if he were alone, and he nodded.  
"Come in, Duke," he said, and stepped aside to let him pass.  
Duke could see Gloria and Dave, and a dark-haired woman. He looked closer at her, and noted her eyes, and let out a small gasp.  
The woman stood up, smiling at him, and nodded.  
"How very like Josiah you are," was all she said.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

 

_I have to pause here in my tale to give a special thanks to my friend, Elegant Soul for giving me some of my ideas for Prudence!_

 

"Who?" Duke asked.  
"Josiah was my twin brother-you favor him heavily," Prudence replied.  
"Duke, this is Prudence--Prudence Stillwater," Vince said slowly. "You've no doubt heard about the box that washed ashore this morning. Prudence was inside it--still alive."  
"You mean--that Prudence Stillwater?" Duke gaped.  
"The one accused of witchcraft, yes," Prudence finished.  
"How could--how can you still be alive?" Duke said, studying her closely. She looked to be around his own age, her silvery-blue eyes observing him closely as well.  
"The same as every other occurrence in Haven," Prudence answered. "You had said earlier, David, that Mara was still here, and yet not here," she went on. "Perhaps you could explain that a little more, if you would be so kind."  
"She means Audrey," Dave told Duke. "That's why we didn't want her and Nathan to meet Prudence yet. Her last meeting with Mara wasn't--too friendly."  
"They tell me that she is still here, terrorizing the denizens of Haven," Prudence remarked.  
"That isn't true," Duke said. "I know it sounds bad that she's still here, but it's not bad, I promise," he assured Prudence. "She isn't--evil--anymore. She's changed. Her name is Audrey now--Audrey Parker. She helps Troubled people, not hurts them."  
"Helping those she Troubled in the first place," Prudence observed. "A bit like closing the barn door after the cattle have run away, wouldn't you agree?"  
"Audrey _does_ help people," Duke argued gently. "If you would meet her, you'd see that. I-I know what she was like when she was Mara, and--"  
"She has a way with men," Prudence answered icily. "They tend to do whatever she asks of them."  
"Look, Prue, she has changed," Gloria told her. "Vince and Dave are going to explain all of it to you, right, fellas?" she said pointedly, looking over her glasses at Vince, who nodded.  
"Yes," he spoke. "Time's come to stop fudging the truth."  
"That time came _before_ we all went into the lighthouse," Duke snapped. He ducked out of the door, walking along the dock.  
Prudence looked bewildered. "Have I said something wrong?" she asked.  
"He--lost someone," Gloria explained, sitting down with her on the couch as Vince approached them with a leather-bound book in his hands. "Just give him a minute."  
Prudence nodded, and gasped, seeing what it was that Vince had.  
"Captain Cabot's journal," she said, taking it into her hands. "I had not seen this in ages, even before I went into that box."  
"You _knew_ him?" Dave breathed.  
"Yes, I did. He was a family friend," Prudence murmured, gently turning the ancient pages.

* * *

  
Duke stood out on the edge of the dock, thinking over Prudence. She certainly didn't look like a witch, but in real life, witches weren't green with large warty noses either.  
He tossed a twig , watching it land on the water, the wind and the current making it drift a little ways from the dock. He felt that familiar tightness at the back of his throat as he fought down the tears.  
Pooh sticks, Jennifer had called it. He missed her, so badly; it seemed as though everyone he'd ever gotten close to, or tried to get close to, had died.  
_Even Mara died_ , he thought, flinging the remainder of the stick out over the water. _Not that we were in love or anything, but even she's gone. I just have to try to get Prudence to understand that, or she's going to try to hurt Audrey._  
He glanced back towards the fishing shack. _Audrey and Nate would kill me if they knew I was missing out on Vince's full disclosure_ , he reflected. He drew a deep breath, exhaled, and headed back inside.  
"What'd I miss?" he asked.  
"Only everything," Gloria answered, and Duke groaned inwardly, and Gloria looked sympathetic. "Not really, Kitten--Prue was just telling us that she knew Sebastian Cabot."  
"What was he like?" Duke questioned.  
"A good man," Prudence spoke. "He was well-educated, very gentlemanly--for a sailor," she continued, a small smile playing around her lips. "I understand you also have a ship."  
" _The Cape Rouge_ ," Duke said. "I don't actually fish for a living, though. Now I own a restaurant."  
"You didn't fish for a living _before_ you had the Gull," Gloria prodded playfully. "Your grandson was what you would have termed a pirate and smuggler."  
"From pirate to tavern-keeper," Prudence observed. "I see not much has changed in our family. My father and brothers also had somewhat disreputable reputations. Father was notorious for his abilities with cards, and Josiah was once accused of being a highwayman. It was never proven, however," she finished.  
“Was he?”  
“Was he what?”  
“A highwayman,” Duke prodded.  
“It is bad luck to speak ill of the dead,” Prudence murmured, sipping from her tea cup.  
"Our proud heritage," Duke muttered.  
Prudence lightly laughed, and then sobered.  
"But they were good men at heart," she said, her hand gently touching his. "And I do not believe that has changed in 500 years."  
"If you say so," Duke muttered.  
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," Gloria complained. "I bet Prudence could stand a bite to eat too. But nothing heavy at first--it could make you really sick," she warned her. "You might not die from it, but you may wish you would."  
"I shall heed your advice--Doctor," Prudence smiled. "Just some broth or gruel to begin with."  
"Gruel," Duke sneered. "That doesn't even sound appetizing."  
"It isn't," Prudence sighed. "No matter how well it is prepared."  
"I think I can do better than gruel," Duke replied, getting up.  
"Where are you going?" Vince asked.  
"To get us some food from the Gull--I'm going to show Gran here what she's been missing for the last 500 years," Duke replied, and then departed.  
He reached the Gull a short time later, and then went into the kitchen, finding his cook, Matty.  
"Matty--make me one of everything on the menu," he said.  
"Come again?" Matty asked blankly.  
"I didn't stutter--one of everything on the menu, chop chop, I got hungry people to feed," Duke ordered in a friendly tone, and Matty set to work as Duke began ladling the two soups they were serving into take-out bowls.  
"Do you not remember how to use a phone?" he heard from the doorway in the midst of boxing up the orders Matty was cranking out. He looked up, seeing Audrey with an annoyed expression on her face, and Nathan behind her with the same look.  
"Oh-hi," Duke answered lamely. "I've been--busy."  
"What's all the food for?" Nathan questioned.  
"I'm really hungry today," Duke replied.  
"Did you find out anything about what we talked about?" Audrey inquired.  
"Mm-not yet," Duke said. "But I'll keep looking into it. Okay? Now I gotta go--I have a delivery to make."  
"Since when do you deliver food?" Audrey blurted.  
"Since--now," Duke replied, and darted past them out the door, laden down with take-out bags.  
"He's up to something," Nathan grumbled. "Give him three minutes, and then we're going to follow him. Stan said he saw Duke talking to Vince and Dave earlier today."  
"You think he's in cahoots with them? That'd be a first," Audrey puzzled. It would explain Duke's need for all the take-out food, if he had a group of people to feed.  
They watched as Duke drove off, and Nathan noted the direction he headed in, and after a short wait, he started the Bronco and proceeded to drive in the same direction Duke had gone.  
Audrey scanned the roads, looking for a glimpse of Duke's truck, and she spotted it, making a turn onto Montebanc Road.  
"There he is," she pointed, and Nathan signaled to also make the turn.  
"Vince and Dave's fishing shack is out this way, isn't it?" she asked as they rode along.  
"Uh-huh," Nathan replied. "And that looks exactly like where he's going," he finished, seeing Duke making the turn onto the little road that led to the shack.  
He parked a little distance from the shack, and he and Audrey climbed out, observing Duke as he unloaded the take-out bags from his truck and went inside.  
In the shack, he found Gloria, regaling Prudence with a tale from his childhood. A story he'd rather forget had ever happened.  
"So the last time the Troubles were here, Duke was just a kid," she was saying. "At any rate, there was an old woman who lived here then, Helen Delancey. She had a rather bizarre Trouble, and she used it on Duke."  
"What did she do?" Prudence asked.  
"Nothing," Duke put in from the doorway. "C'mon, Gloria, don't tell that story!"  
"He was so cute and helpless," Gloria went on, ignoring him completely. "She was one of these crazy cat lady varieties, and she transformed him into a kitten, intent on adding him to her collection of cats. But luckily, Lucy got him out."  
"Who is Lucy?"  
"Lucy was Audrey, the last time the Troubles were here," Vince explained, chuckling. "I'd forgotten that had happened to you, Duke."  
"I'm still trying to forget it, and I wish the rest of you would too," Duke said. "Please don't tell that story, Gloria!"  
"All parents tell embarrassing stories about their children," Vince told Duke. "So do godmothers."  
Duke glowered, setting down the bags on the counter. Prudence glanced up at him and gave him a warm smile.  
He felt a little better, and he plopped down onto a chair. He hadn't thought about that in years--that crazy old woman had somehow transformed him into a kitten. He'd run away, trying to go home, mewing frantically at his family's kitchen door, trying to let them know that he was their kid, not just an alley cat.  
But Simon had been hung over and flung a brick at him to chase him away. Duke ran off, and instead, had found Lucy. She'd understood when he'd come squalling to her, as though she could comprehend the pitiful yowls coming from him.  
"So Lucy brings me this scrawny black and brown kitten and says, "Here, I need you to look after Duke while I try to get Mrs. Delancey to change him back," Gloria was telling Prudence. "Took her the better part of the day to convince the crazy old bat that Duke would be happier being a kid than a cat, and she finally changed him back."  
"And you believed her when she told you he was Duke?" Prudence asked.  
"I'd seen too much stuff in Haven _not_ to believe her by that point," Gloria said. "And when he changed back, he was asleep in a box in my laundry room. He was so cute," she finished, gazing at Duke, who looked as though he wished he could disappear. "That's why I call him Kitten sometimes."  
"And why I dislike canned tuna to this day," Duke muttered.  
Nathan and Audrey came up to the door, and Nathan knocked.  
Vince opened the door.  
"Audrey--Nathan," he stammered. "What brings you here?"  
Prudence looked up at the new visitors, and several expressions crossed her face simultaneously--shock, disbelief, and she finally settled on one--anger.  
" _Witch_!" she screamed, and in one swift movement, was over Vince's desk and had tackled Audrey to the ground, Vince's antique letter opener in her hand.  
Audrey fought back, but Prudence was surprisingly strong, and she choked off Audrey's airway with one hand, and lifted the letter opener to plunge it into her heart.  
Nathan, Vince and Duke grappled with her, trying to wrest both the letter opener from her grasp and her hand from around Audrey's throat. They finally managed to pull her off, Prudence kicking and screaming her anger at being thwarted in her attempt to kill Audrey.  
Audrey scrambled away from her, and Gloria crossed the room swiftly to examine her.  
"You okay, Audrey?" Nathan panted as he succeeded in getting the handcuffs around Prudence's wrists.  
Audrey nodded, still gasping as she looked at Prudence, who was glaring at her from the chair she'd been put into, her silvery eyes blazing hatred.  
"I think she remembers you," Duke got out. "Audrey, this is Prudence, Prudence--Audrey," he waved vaguely at her.  
"Mara," Prudence said in a low voice, her body quivering with rage. "Her name is _Mara_."


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

 

Prudence struggled with the handcuffs, but they held tight. Dwight had had the foresight to have them custom-made for the occasion when restraints needed to be extra strong and Nathan was glad of it, realizing that if Prudence had been cuffed with a regulation set, she would have broken them apart.  
"Prue, stop," Duke urged. "You're hurting yourself," he told her, seeing the gashes she was creating on her wrists from fighting with the handcuffs.  
"My wrists will heal," she said. "My wounds always heal, do they not, Mara? It would spoil your amusement if I were to perish too quickly."  
"I am not Mara anymore!" Audrey argued back. She searched her mind, trying to remember any fragments of her encounters with the silvery-eyed woman across from her, but any of Mara's memories had vanished along with her. "I am only Audrey Parker now," Audrey stated firmly. "I want to help you, Prudence."  
"There is _nothing_ you have to offer that I want," Prudence growled. "You have already taken everything I held dear from me-I have nothing left, save my life, and if I could forfeit it, I would do so gladly," she panted, angry tears dripping from her eyes. "I am a monster, an indestructible creature like something from a fairy tale."  
"You're not a monster," Vince told her. "And neither is Audrey. Yes, she did wrong as Mara--but she fought Mara and won out in a battle of wills, because she wants to end the Troubles, as much as you do."  
"Who _are_ you?" Nathan said.  
"Prudence Stillwater," Duke said. "She is my seventeenth-generational great-grandmother. She's the first Crocker to have ever been Troubled," he went on, a hand on his great-grandmother's shoulder. "She's the original model, you might say."  
"Which means your family's Trouble is undiluted with her," Nathan pointed out. "Did you take Dwight's Trouble from him?"  
"Yes," Prudence answered. "I relieved the good constable of his terrible burden. And who might you be?" she snapped. "Mara's latest puppet to make dance on a string? There have been _many_ like you, of that I am certain."  
"I asked you a question," Nathan said, ignoring Prudence's insults regarding Audrey. "If you are the first Crocker to be Troubled, how did--or does your Trouble work? And what happens now that you took Dwight's Trouble, the same thing that happened to Duke?"  
Prudence looked puzzled at her grandson.  
"Mara--caused me to release all the Troubles that our family had killed off," Duke said in a low voice.  
"And yet you stand here and defend her," Prudence stated matter-of-fact. "Did it occur to any of you that if she is gone, perhaps her miseries will go with her?"  
"We don't know that they would, and that's not gonna happen anyway. So just get used to the idea that Mara is gone, lady," Nathan said angrily. "And I asked you a question, Mrs. Stillwater," he growled, still furious that she'd tried to kill Audrey. "How does your Trouble work?"  
"If I make contact with the blood of an afflicted person, I can absorb it into my own body. I do not have to take the life of a family member," Prudence said. "I was taught the old ways by the Mik'Maq-I know how to send them out of me and back to the other side where they belong. Unfortunately, Mara and her-- _companion_ \--"she ground out savagely, "altered that. Crockers could still 'cure' Troubles-but it meant turning my kinsmen into assassins and killers. I would imagine the name Crocker now inspires fear in the hearts of the afflicted," she concluded, glancing at Duke's face, seeing that she was indeed speaking the truth. "I'm sure the hands of my family are stained red with the blood of the Troubled."  
"Why wasn't your Trouble--altered?" Audrey asked.  
"Because it was not a Trouble to begin with," Prudence said. "It was originally a healing gift. But _you_ took it and turned it into an atrocity," she directed at Audrey, who looked stricken. "The curse William placed upon me was that of indestructibility--I cannot die. The curse placed upon my family was that they would have my gift of healing--but at a terrible cost."  
"If you can send Troubles to the other side, then that means that you can open the door," Dave said, a look of fear crossing his face. "You can't do that--you don't know what's over there, Prudence!"  
"I am all too aware of what is over there," Prudence replied. "And yes, it is terrible, David."  
Audrey got up and crossed over to Prudence, kneeling down in front of her.  
"Prudence--I want to try to end the Troubles," she told her, her blue eyes on Prudence's own. "I can't imagine the pain I caused you as Mara, and if I could take it all back, I would. But I can't. Now all I can do is try to make things right. You can help me--help us--do that," she continued, going around behind her.  
"Audrey, what are you doing?" Nathan protested.  
"The right thing," Audrey answered firmly. She unfastened the cuffs from around Prue's wrists, and could indeed see that though the cuffs were bloody, the wounds inflicted by the handcuffs were gone.  
"How do you know that you can trust me?" Prudence asked.  
"I don't," Audrey replied. "But I trust him," she went on, looking steadily at Duke, who returned her gaze.  
Prudence looked at him, and then back at Audrey and Nathan, gauging her words carefully before she spoke.  
"I will trust in you, because they all seem to have placed their faith in you," she said at length, looking from one face to another in the room. "But betray my trust, Audrey Parker; and you will sincerely regret it to your dying day."  
"Fair enough," Audrey stated, and offered her hand to Prudence, who took it solemnly. The two shook, gauging one another warily.  
"Well now," Vince said brightly, trying to lighten the mood. "How about we dig into some of the food Duke has thoughtfully provided?"  
"I could eat," Audrey said, her eyes still on Prudence's.  
"As could I," Prudence replied, her gaze never wavering from Audrey's face.  
Nathan came up behind Audrey protectively.  
"I hope you know what you're doing," he said in her ear so as not to be heard as Prudence finally broke her gaze, turning her attention instead to Duke as he explained what foods were what.  
"I hope I do too," Audrey sighed.


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

 

After the meal, and things had settled to an uneasy truce between Prudence and Audrey, the question came up on what to do about her. It was decided that as she was 'family', Duke would put her in his spare bedroom on The Cape Rouge.  
Audrey and Nathan took their leave shortly after they'd eaten, leaving Dave, Vince, Duke, Gloria and Prudence.  
"So--you ready to go--Grandma?" Duke asked. "I'm sorry, it's just weird to call you that, even if you are, you're my age."  
"Prudence will be fine, Duke," Prudence answered. "It feels rather odd to me too," she smiled slightly. "My children were twelve and ten when I--left them."  
"First things first, Prue needs clothing more appropriate to her needs," Gloria noted, critically looking over Dave's flannel shirt and khakis they'd given her to wear. "I'll take her over to Dooley's, and we can get her some wardrobe basics, and maybe hit Sylvia's Salvaged Duds," she went on.  
"Will there be a seamstress at either location?" Prudence asked, and Gloria grinned.  
"Tailors and seamstresses aren't much in demand these days," she said. "Our clothing is mass-produced in factories now, and it comes in different sizes. In your day, dresses pretty much came one-size-fits-all and you'd just cinch it up or take it out, right?"  
"The dress I wore I had owned since my mother had made it for me," Prudence said. "I was married in that dress. Wedding gowns were often our best dresses worn to church." She looked pensive. "Or when on trial."  
"Well, things have changed," Gloria told her. "Come on, Prue--you don't mind being called Prue, do you, or would you rather Prudence?"  
"My brothers called me Prue--it is perfectly fine," Prudence smiled.  
Well, I guess we will let you two girls go on your shopping spree," Vince said. "And Prudence, I will see about what we discussed earlier."  
"Thank you, Vincent," Prue answered.  
"I'm gonna head back to the Gull, and then I will go by the boat and make sure your room's ready," Duke said. He hadn't really been in there since Jen had died; it'd been her room, before they'd become a couple. He'd kept putting off boxing up her things. Maybe it was his way of denial, knowing that she was really gone for good if he put her things away. Now was as good a time as it ever would be.  
Gloria and Prudence left in her sedan, and Duke headed back to the Gull to gather boxes, and was in the midst of sticking them in the back of his truck when he heard Nathan's heavy tread descending the stairs that led to Audrey's apartment.

"Where's the psycho?" Nathan asked.  
Duke gave him a dirty look. "You know what Mara was like, Nathan. As bad as we had it, multiply that by 500 years and you can understand why Prudence is angry with Audrey."  
"Mara doesn't _exist_ anymore, Duke," Nathan argued. "Prudence is like you when you're all jacked up on Troubled blood-super-strong, I thought she was gonna rip Audrey's throat out before I could get her to let go."  
"Only that isn't Prudence's Trouble--she's naturally that strong," Duke pointed out. "Mara and William cooked it up so that we'd all be like her, save for that we'd have to kill to end a Trouble. She has a right to be angry, Nathan," he went on, getting angry himself. "They turned her into a human golem-shoot her, stab her, she gets up and comes back for more. And she isn't all bad--she took Sasquatch's Trouble from him and he's still breathing," he finished. "That's more than I can do."  
"She can cure Troubles, that makes her a valuable commodity," Nathan conceded. "If the Guard finds that out, they'll take her and try to make her cure everybody. We don't know how much she can take. What if what happened to you happens to her?"  
"Well, like you said, Nate--Mara's gone, she doesn't exist anymore, so that's not likely," Duke retorted, slamming the tailgate shut.  
"Where are you going?" Nathan demanded.  
"I have to go and get Prudence's room ready. I still have--some things to put away," he finished softly. "I haven't been in there since Jennifer died."  
Nathan's face softened. He'd been so obsessed with getting Audrey back that he hadn't realized that Duke was still grieving for his lost love, and relented.  
"You want any help?"  
"No, I got it, thanks," Duke snapped, and climbed into his truck, peeling rubber as he drove out of The Gull's parking lot.

* * *

  
In Dooley's Department Store, Mrs. Fredricks, the saleslady in Women's Wear, was about to measure Prudence for a bra.  
"Arms out, dear," she indicated.  
Prue looked nervously at Gloria.  
"It's okay, kid," she told her. "Just hold your arms out like this," she demonstrated. "And Edith's gonna take your measurements."  
Prudence did as instructed, holding herself stiffly as Mrs. Fredricks wrapped the tape around her chest.  
"Thirty-six C," she pronounced.  
"I was a 36C once, a hundred years ago," Gloria quipped.  
Mrs. Fredricks returned with a few lacy bras.  
"What are these?" Prudence asked.  
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Fredricks squeaked. "You act like you've never seen a brasserie, dear."  
"She means the style of the bras, Edith," Gloria put in quickly.  
"Oh! Well, this is a demi-cup, this is a balconette," she explained. "Makes the girls stand at attention, the men love it," she confided. "Not that you have much to worry about in that department with your figure."  
Prudence turned a deep shade of red. Ladies simply did not speak so boldly about men in her day, at least not in public places.  
"Just some good basic bras--Prue's kind of a no-nonsense gal," Gloria stepped in, seeing Prue's discomfort. "And some slips and a nice nightgown, one of those pretty ones with the Battenburg lace on it."  
Gloria and Mrs. Fredricks left Prue to finish dressing in the fitting room, and waited outside. A short time later, Prudence emerged, wearing a calf-length skirt with a folkloric pattern and a deep blue blouse.  
"You know, I've seen several women try on that exact same outfit, and it never looked right on any of them," Mrs. Fredricks said. "They all looked like they were wearing their grandmother's clothes. But it's perfect on you," she enthused. "It's almost as though you were born to wear that style of clothing."  
"You don't know how right you are," Gloria muttered out of the side of her mouth.  
"Beg pardon?" Mrs. Fredricks said.  
"I said how right you are--it's perfect for her," Gloria said a little louder, and the saleslady smiled and nodded.  
"Does it look well?" Prudence asked.  
"See for yourself," Gloria said. Prudence turned, seeing herself in the three-way mirror.  
"It is pretty," Prudence answered, feeling the fabric of the skirt. "And so soft-almost like not having clothes on. I feel as though I am under-dressed."  
"Where did you come in from, dear?" Mrs. Fredricks was saying. "You must have been living a very harsh existence."  
"Living in the Yukon," Gloria put in. She'd been around Haven long enough to know that 'I-washed-ashore-after-five-centuries' as an answer wasn't going to fly. "Very tough existence, freeze to death if you don't wear heavy clothing."  
"Oh, well, she should enjoy the Maine winters then," Mrs. Fredricks said. "You should feel right at home around February."  
Prudence began to say something else, but Gloria put a finger to her lips, and Prue fell silent.  
Gloria paid for the items, and the two left Dooley's laden with shopping bags.  
"What is a Yoo-kon, pray tell?" Prue questioned Gloria when they climbed in the car.  
"It's a place way up north," Gloria replied. She spied Rosemary in her bakery, placing a platter of cookies in the window, and glanced at Prue.  
"I think we've earned ourselves a treat today. What do you say to a cupcake?" Gloria asked her. "We can get some for Audrey too--that'll go a long way to pouring oil on troubled waters, to turn a phrase."  
"I may have been hasty in my judgement," Prudence said stiffly. "But you did not know her as I did."  
"Believe me, we all got a pretty good idea of what Mara was capable of a while back," Gloria told her.  
"Audrey's friend--the tall gentleman."  
"Nathan."  
"Nathaniel, yes. He is Troubled also, is he not?"  
"Yes he is. Nathan's Trouble is he can't feel anything," Gloria replied.  
"Mayhaps if I were to relieve him of that, that might serve as a peace offering too," Prudence remarked, and her face tightened. "But due to his rather coarse treatment of me,  I am not of a frame of mind to do so just now."  
"Don't take it too personally, Prue--Nathan's in love with Audrey. There's nothing he wouldn't do for her, and that's not because of a Trouble. It's real," Gloria said.  
"Then she is fortunate indeed," Prue answered.  
Gloria chose a vanilla bean cupcake with sprinkles for Prue, who sat there savoring each morsel.  
"Never have I tasted anything so exquisite," Prue breathed, licking her fingers.  
"Rosemary's good," Gloria agreed, swallowing the last of her double chocolate cupcake. She took the box with the six cupcakes for Audrey, and then they headed out towards the marina.

* * *

 

Duke finished boxing up the last of Jennifer's belongings, and taped the box shut.  
He wiped his eyes, and had just put the last of them in the storeroom when he heard footsteps and Gloria's call of "Don't shoot, we're here!"  
He swallowed hard and forced himself to smile.  
"What'd you do, buy out Dooley's?" he chuckled.  
"Well, you start from rotting rags in your wardrobe," Gloria chided.  
Duke cast a look at Prue's face. She looked tired.  
"You look worn out," Duke said.  
"I am rather fatigued," Prue sighed.  
"Well, I guess you have had a full day," Gloria told her. "So I'm gonna take off, and leave you two to catch up. Duke, you make sure she gets some rest."  
"I will," Duke stated.  
"Scout's Honor?" Gloria asked, holding up two fingers.  
"Thought Scout's Honor was three fingers," Duke remarked.  
"Keep it up and it'll be one finger," Gloria warned, and Duke grinned genuinely.  
"I promise that I will see to it that Prudence gets some rest and nobody bothers her," Duke promised.  
"See that you keep it," Gloria stated and then took her leave.  
Duke helped Prue carry her shopping bags into the spare room, and Prudence began to put them away.  
"Would you like some tea? I was going to make some," Duke said.  
"That would be wonderful," Prue smiled. "And then perhaps you will show me how things work in the kitchen. I am quite capable of cooking, but as you do not have a hearth, I am uncertain on how to go about it."  
"Yeah, I guess there have been a few improvements," Duke smiled faintly. "But sure, I'll show you how to work the stove and the dishwasher."  
"What is a dishwasher? You have a scullery maid?"  
"No, it's a machine. You put dirty dishes in it, and they come out clean."  
"What a glorious age you live in," Prudence got out. "I despise washing dishes."  
"So do I--Prue," Duke grinned, and left to make the tea.  
Prudence finished folding her clothes, and opened a drawer to place them inside. She spied a small rectangular piece of paper wedged in the far corner, and she pulled it out. It was a portrait, no--pictures, Vincent had called them. It was a picture of Duke and of a dark-haired, dark-eyed girl. They seemed very happy in the picture, and Prue studied it for a moment. She'd seen the sadness in his eyes, and remembered Gloria telling her that he had lost someone when Mara had come back.  
She tucked it into her skirt pocket, and finished putting her clothes away before she went out into the kitchen.  
Duke was just taking the teakettle off the burner, pouring it into two mugs.  
Prue pulled her teabag from her mug, inspecting it for a moment before putting it back in.  
"I keep trying to imagine what this must all be like for you," Duke said. "A brave new world, eh, Prue?"  
"Indeed," Prue replied. She paused a moment, and then took the photograph from her pocket.  
"I found this," she began. "Gloria had told me that you lost someone when--Mara returned. Did she kill her?"  
"No, she didn't," Duke replied. "I don't know what happened to her, she just died."  
"She was dear to you," Prudence observed.  
"Yeah," Duke answered, barely audible. "She was very dear to me."  
Prue put her hand on Duke's. "I am sorry. It is always difficult to lose those that we love," she said tenderly. "When Josiah died of fever, I felt that my heart would surely break in two. He was not just my twin brother, he was my dearest friend and staunchest defender."  
She looked at the picture again. "She was a good woman?"  
"The best," Duke smiled, his eyes bright. He blinked hard, and poured himself a shot of Chivas.  
"Might you spare another of those?" Prue asked.  
Duke was surprised. "I thought Puritans didn't drink."  
"I am not a Puritan," Prudence said. "I did not drink in public. It was frowned upon for ladies to frequent taverns, but social occasions or holidays, we could partake of the occasional glass of sherry, or brandy."  
"I don't know if I have sherry," Duke said. "Not really my style."  
"It was not my style either," Prudence smiled, a wicked gleam in her eye. "I am more partial to rum."  
" _That_ I do have," Duke grinned, reaching for the bottle.  
For most of the evening, Duke and Prudence talked. Duke told her about Jennifer, how they met, the things they did together, and how she'd died.  
Prudence in turn, told him of her own family, of her father, who was an excellent silversmith, and of her mother, with her kind heart. She had taught her daughter some of the healing ways of the Mik'Maq, but it was her grandfather who had taught her how to open the door between worlds.  
Duke showed her how to operate the stove, and the two of them made dinner. They were about to sit down to eat when Duke's phone rang.  
"It's Audrey," he told Prudence.  
Prue's face grew serious as Duke put it on speaker phone.  
"Hi Audrey," he answered.  
"Hey, how's everything going with you and Prudence?" she said.  
"Prudence is very well, thank you," Prue replied with no small trace of ice in her voice.  
"Oh, good, you're there too," Audrey said, relief in her voice. "Prudence, I need your help. Duke, do you remember Lisa Hawkins? She's the girl you Troubled at the Gull. Her Trouble's flared again, and she can't get it under control. She can't eat, she can't leave her house without endangering everyone. The Guard's got her on lockdown."  
"What is her Trouble?" Prudence asked Duke.  
"An extremely dangerous one--anything she touches disintegrates--including people," Duke shuddered, remembering when she'd touched her boyfriend and he'd exploded before their horrified eyes.  
Prue's face darkened. So far, the campaign to win her over to like Audrey didn't seem to be working, Duke noted. And if she had to keep curing Troubles like this, they were in for a long, dry spell.  
"Can you help her, Prudence?" Duke asked.  
Prudence looked at the phone, and then at Duke.  
"I will come and help," she said, her silvery eyes narrowed. "And then I shall see if this Audrey Parker truly has only the best intentions."


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

 

"Ma'am, please calm down," the girl in the house was saying to Lisa.  
Lisa paced around, agitated. She didn't know why this--thing--had come back again. She hated it; anything she touched shattered into a million pieces, including her boyfriend, Aaron. It had been terrible, trying to explain what had happened to him to his family.  
_It was all that Duke Crocker's fault_ , she thought. She'd heard from the Guard that he'd been the one to somehow release all the Troubles on Haven again, and yet he'd managed to walk away scot-free.  
The Guard didn't like the fact that Duke was allowed to roam the streets either, she knew. God only knows what else he could release, they'd said. But their leader, whoever he was, wouldn't let them kill him.  
She heard a car pulling up outside. There was that blonde policewoman, Audrey Parker, climbing out of a blue Bronco along with a tall thin man that she recognized as Audrey's partner, Nathan Wuornos.  
Lisa exhaled a small sigh of relief. Maybe she could fix whatever it was that had set off her Trouble again. She'd been able to have a normal life again, but now her--problem--had flared again. She'd been shopping and gently touched a figurine and it had shattered into powder. She'd done her best to get home, but not before she'd managed to disintegrate a store door, her car, and the neighbor's mailbox that she'd touched to keep from stumbling.  
A second vehicle arrived, and she saw Duke Crocker getting out, along with a woman.  
Lisa could see the concern in the Guard members' face at the sight of him. She'd heard that not had he released the Troubles on Haven, he was a Trouble-Killer--in the literal sense--he killed people to stop their Troubles in their family. Was he here to kill her?  
"And all because I complained about a drink," she muttered.  
"I'm sorry?" the girl on guard with her in the house said.  
"Nothing," Lisa answered. "I guess they're out of options for me."  
Outside, two Guard members stopped Audrey from entering.  
"What's the matter? You can't fix her anymore so you brought him?" he jerked a thumb at Crocker.  
"I'm just here to help," Duke protested.  
"Yeah, we know how Crockers help people. Help 'em right into a coffin," the other man retorted.  
"I am a Crocker, but I do not kill," Prudence replied. "Now please, step aside. We are here to help, not hurt."  
"I've never seen you before in Haven," the first man who'd spoken said, surveying Prudence. "You his sister or something?"  
"We are--related," Prudence answered truthfully. "Now, please, step aside."  
The two men grudgingly moved, and Audrey, Nathan and Prudence stepped forward, but they stepped in front of Duke, blocking his progress.  
"But _you_ can stay here," the man said.  
Duke opened his mouth to protest, but Audrey spoke.  
"Duke, you and Nathan can stay out here while Prudence and I talk to Lisa," she stated.  
"Audrey, I--" Nathan began, but Audrey gave him a look, and he shut up.  
"You can keep Duke company," Audrey placated, but Nathan caught her underlying meaning: _I need you to stay with Duke to make sure he stays safe_ , and he nodded.  
"We're here if you need us," he replied, and Audrey and Prudence headed inside.  
Inside, the house was a litter of shrapnel that used to be furniture and belongings, and the two stepped gingerly through the debris.  
"Lisa?" Audrey called.  
"We're in here," the girl with the Guard called.  
Audrey and Prudence went into the living room, where they found Lisa, pacing restlessly, the girl standing by the fireplace with a rifle in her hands.  
"What'd you bring Duke Crocker for? Is he here to kill me?" Lisa burst out.  
"What? No, no, Duke is not here to kill you," Audrey placated. "Now, what happened, Lisa? You were doing so well with managing your Trouble."  
"I-I don't know," Lisa protested. "I was out shopping and all I did was just touch a ceramic statue, and it just--shattered," she went on, showing them the cut on her fingers from the glass. "And-and then it just got worse and worse." She noticed Prudence. "Who are you?"  
"I am here to help you, Lisa," Prudence replied in a gentle tone. "Give me your hand."  
"No, I can't. I'll kill you if I touch you," Lisa said.  
"You will not kill me," Prudence told her.  
"Prudence, are you sure about this?" Audrey asked nervously.  
Prue turned her silvery eyes on Audrey, her expression clinical.  
"I thought you claimed to help the Troubled. Are you afraid of her touch as well?"  
"No," Audrey said. "I'm immune to Troubles."  
Prudence nodded. "As I thought. Then take her other hand. I need you to help keep her calm."  
Audrey stepped forward, and Lisa placed her hand in hers.  
Prudence began to whisper in a language that none of them could understand, and reached out and grabbed Lisa's hurt hand, squeezing the wound on her fingers, reopening the cuts.  
"That hurts!" Lisa yelped.  
"Stop it!" the girl with the Guard protested, and moved forward to grab Prudence's shoulder.  
" _No, do not_!" Prudence cried as her hand landed on Prudence's shoulder--and then was gone in a red mist as she shattered.  
Audrey and Lisa both cried out, but Prudence held stubbornly to Lisa's hand, her eyes on Audrey's face, the girl's blood sprayed over her face and body.  
"I can take a curse-but I also take it on before I conquer it," she gasped, her body shaking. "This is one that my family killed?"  
"Duke said that he accidentally released it on her," Audrey told her.  
"As I thought," Prudence got out. "It's stronger now than it was when it was first made."  
Prue stopped shaking, and she released Lisa's hand.  
"Touch something now," she told her.  
Lisa stretched out a trembling hand, and cautiously touched a photograph on the mantel. The picture nudged under her touch, and she picked it up with both hands, looking up at Audrey and Prudence.  
"It's gone," she smiled timidly. "Thank you!" she cried, reaching out to hug Prudence, but she stepped out of her reach.  
"Do not touch me--please," she said, staggering slightly.  
"Prudence," Audrey said, concerned. She touched her shoulder, but Prue brushed it off.  
"It will-take me some time to absorb this one-because I have also taken on the dead girl's," she uttered. "Just see that no one comes into contact with me for the next few hours." She gave Audrey a cold look. "This was amusement for you and William--inflicting pain and misery on others. Is it still amusing?" she finished, and she walked out of the house.  
"What did she mean by that?" Lisa asked.  
"Nothing. You'll be all right now, Lisa," Audrey answered, and hurried after Prudence.  
Prudence reached the gate.  
"What happened, we heard shouting," one of the men said.  
"I am afraid that your companion is dead," Prudence told them. "It was a tragic accident, she touched me when she should not have."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" the guy said, and reached to jerk Prue around to face him, but Duke stepped forward, grabbing his arm.  
"Don't! Don't touch her!" Audrey shouted.  
Duke and the man struggled with one another before Nathan separated them.  
"Keep your hands off me, Crocker!" the man barked.  
"He just saved your life," Audrey told him. "Don't touch her right now, or the same thing that happened to your friend will happen to you."  
"What did you do to her?" he yelled at Prudence.  
Prudence turned to face him.  
"I cured her," she replied, and then continued to walk away.  
"What did she say? She cured a Trouble?" the other man gasped, watching her go.  
"Is that what happened, Audrey?" Nathan said, staring after Prudence. "She killed Lisa's Trouble, but she didn't kill her?"  
Audrey nodded. "But she takes on the Trouble for a while until she absorbs it. So nobody touch her until she says otherwise," she went on. "That's what happened to your friend, she grabbed Prudence while she taking the Trouble from Lisa."  
"She can cure Troubles," the man who'd been struggling with Duke said in wonderment, and looked at Duke. "Looks like your family's finally getting it together."  
"You leave her alone," Duke warned, and jogged off after Prudence.  
"For now," the man said, his eyes narrowed.  
"Now we know how Dwight got cured," Nathan muttered.  
"Yeah," Audrey murmured, pondering over Prue's words in the house: It is stronger now than when it was first made. Were Troubles able to strengthen? Could they be--alive--in some way? She didn't know, or wasn't able to remember. But she knew one thing; Prudence Stillwater was definitely no ordinary woman.  
_Maybe she really is a witch,_ she thought.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

 

Prudence walked with an angry stride, and Duke hurried off to catch up with her.  
"Prudence--Prue, wait up!" he called after her.  
"Do not touch me, please, Duke," she said. "Mistress Hawkins' Trouble has become mine for a short while."  
Duke stopped a few feet from her. Prudence was smeared with blood over her face and neck, and she wiped at her eyes, and Duke realized she was crying.  
"What happened in there, Prue?" he asked gently.  
"The girl put her hand on me, and she just--vanished into nothingness," Prue answered. "One moment she was there, and the next, I was covered in her blood. She had a Trouble that caused dairy to curdle."  
"Kind of a mild Trouble," Duke commented.  
"It would have been enough to have gotten her hanged as a witch in my time," Prue pointed out.  
She gazed at him a few moments. "Her friends did not seem overly pleased to see you there."  
"My admiration society," Duke muttered.  
"They hate you because you are a Crocker," Prudence said.  
"Not just that," Duke sighed. "Because I released all those Troubles on Haven again. We've been trying to figure out a way to round them all up again, but so far, we haven't found a way." He smiled slightly. "Maybe you can help on that count, Prue. Maybe it was fate that washed you ashore after all this time."  
"Perhaps," Prue murmured. She bent down, and touched a stone, which crumbled to dust.  
"Guess it hasn't worn off yet," Duke observed.  
"It will take some time. I usually cannot absorb more than one curse at a time, and now I find myself trying to absorb two at the same time," Prue sighed, staggering slightly.  
Duke started to reach for her protectively, but caught himself at the last moment. Prue saw his movement, and gave him a weary smile.  
"You still wish to help, even at the risk of your own life," she told him gently. "You are a good man, great-grandson of mine," she finished, and turned to walk away again.  
"Where are you going?" he asked.  
"I just wish to walk for a while. It has been a long time for me since I was able to. It helps me to think," Prue said, and turned back. "I will find my way back," she called as she went over the little hill, disappearing from sight.  
Duke exhaled heavily, and headed back towards his truck. The remaining Guard members had loaded back into their van, and drove off under Nathan's piercing glare.  
"Where's Prudence?" Nathan asked.  
"She wanted to walk home," Duke said. "Said she needed to think."  
"Should she go alone? Those guys know what she can do," Audrey protested. "They might try to kidnap her."  
"Well, if she's got Lisa's Trouble now, she's safe for the moment. They won't risk getting killed to try and grab her," Nathan replied. "We better get hold of Dwight and let him know the cat's out of the bag about her. We'll put a couple guys on the Rouge too."  
"I can take of myself--and Prue," Duke said, and climbed into his truck. He roared off in the direction Prudence had gone, and Nathan watched him go.  
"Prudence said something in there," Audrey spoke quietly. "She said that William and--I--Troubled people just for the fun of it. And I think she was right."  
"We know what she was like, Audrey," Nathan said, putting his arms around her. "And you are not her. You're helping the Troubled."  
"But Prudence sees me as Mara," Audrey told him.  
"We'll convince her otherwise," Nathan soothed.  
"I just hope we can," Audrey mumbled.

* * *

  
Duke returned to the marina, unsuccessful in his attempt to try and find Prudence. Whichever way she had gone, it wasn't by the main roads.  
He gave up at length and went back home to the Rouge and to the dinner he and Prue had fixed, long since cold.  
"Prue?" he called. "Prudence?"  
Silence answered him.  
"I guess she hasn't made it back yet," he said to himself. He reheated his stew in the microwave, and sat down to eat when he heard the sound of feet on deck.  
Duke surreptitiously reached for the pistol he kept taped under the table when he heard Dwight's voice.  
"Duke? You in?"  
"Yeah," Duke replied, tucking the pistol under his thigh.  
Dwight came in, Prudence trailing along behind him. Her hair and clothes appeared to be damp, and he wondered where she had stopped to wash herself off.  
"Prue," Duke said, relieved. "Are you okay?"  
"I am fine," she replied. "The constable was kind enough to offer me a ride."  
"So you're--better now?"  
"The danger has passed," Prudence said.  
"Audrey and Nathan told me what happened at Lisa's house," Dwight told them. "You're not to blame, Prudence. She didn't understand how your Trouble worked. Now I see why you told Vince and Dave to stay away when you cured me."  
"I am still sorry the girl died," Prudence sighed.  
"Her name was Lauren," Dwight muttered. "As far as Troubles went, hers wasn't bad. But she was a good kid."  
"I will help as much as I can, while I am here in Haven," Prudence said. "For now, all I need is some nourishment and rest."  
"Guess you have had a busy day," Dwight said. "I'll see you in the morning, yes? And please, just call me Dwight."  
"Or Sasquatch," Duke grinned.  
"Why would one call him that?" Prudence remarked. "That is only a Mik'Maq legend."  
"Duke's trying to be funny," Dwight retorted, his eyes narrowed. "Get some rest, Prue, and I'll see you tomorrow. Duke," he nodded curtly, and ducked back out the door.  
Prudence looked exhausted, and Duke walked her over to the table, and helped her sit down.  
"Here, let me heat your food up again," Duke said, but Prue put her hand on his.  
"It is fine. I have eaten cold food before," Prue answered faintly, and managed a few forkfuls until she finally laid down her fork, and rested her head in her hands, barely able to keep her eyes open.  
"You're exhausted. You need to sleep," Duke told her. He put his arms around her, and helped her walk to her room. He knelt down to take her shoes off, sitting them down by the bed before he lifted her legs onto the bed.  
"Thank you, Duke," Prudence yawned. She laid down on the bed, and he covered her over with a comforter.  
"Sweet dreams," he told her, glancing down at her, and saw that Prue was already sleeping.  
Duke shut the light off, and gently closed the door. It had been a long day, and after checking with Denise, his restaurant manager about how the night at the Gull had gone, he too decided to turn in.  
That night, he dreamed of Jennifer. He hadn't had those dreams for awhile now. In the dream, it was always the same-she was walking just ahead of him, and he would call out to her, but she never acknowledged he was there. He would try to catch up with her, but she always remained just out of his reach.  
He woke with a start early the next morning when he heard someone moving around.  
He peered out of his bedroom, and could smell food cooking. Still half caught in his dream, he called out.  
"Jen?" he began to say, and then realized it must be Prudence.  
"Good morrow, Duke," Prudence greeted.  
"Hi," Duke mumbled, yawning. "You're up early."  
"I have made arrangements with Cons-Dwight this morning, if you recall," Prue said evenly. She was dressed in a gray T-shirt topped with a flowy blouse and a pair of jeans with boots. She had her hair neatly braided down her back, and for the first time, Duke noticed the necklace around her throat.  
"That's unusual," he said, peering closer. "I've never seen a talisman like that before."  
"A gift from my grandfather," Prue replied. She turned, smiling at him. "Sit. Breakfast shall be ready shortly."  
"I don't usually eat breakfast," Duke said, noting the teapot with steam coming out its spout. He took a cup, and filled it from the teapot, sipping it.  
Prudence set down a plate with potatoes, ham and scrambled eggs on it in front of him. He noticed what looked like a cross between a pancake and a biscuit.  
"Hoecake," she said. "Not as good as my mother's, but the ingredients are a bit different now. Although," she went on. "I will say that whomever grinds your flour and meal does an excellent job."  
"We buy it like that from the store. Our modern market," Duke told her.  
"I should like to see this place," Prue said.  
"Well, maybe we can go when you and Dwight get done with whatever you two are up to today," Duke answered. "What are you two doing today?"  
"He is showing me Haven."  
"I could have done that with you."  
"He also wishes me to meet with some of his friends."  
"Uh-huh," Duke said skeptically, imagining that Dwight had a veritable army of Troubled people lined up for Prue to cure.  
It also worried him; Prudence might be able to cure Troubles, but it was Audrey that was the key to solving them. He didn't want Nathan and Dwight to be distracted from the long-term solution and opt for the quick fix.  
_Troubles didn't happen overnight; and we won't cure them overnight_ , he thought.  
"Prudence," Duke began slowly. "Don't let Dwight--push you into anything. You can cure Troubles, yes. But I don't want them using you like that. You don't know what people are like now."  
"I would imagine that people are much the same now as they were in my time," Prue said evenly. She gave him a small smile, and touched his cheek. "Do not worry so about me, Duke," she chided gently. "I am very capable of keeping myself well."  
"I'll just bet," he grinned. "You sure seemed to know what you were doing with that letter opener yesterday," he went on. "You got to work with Audrey," he said cautiously. "She isn't like Mara anymore, is she?"  
"Our time together was so brief, I did not have much chance to form a better opinion," Prue answered briskly.  
"Then you should spend some time with her," Duke replied.  
Prudence was about to answer, when Dwight knocked on the door frame. "Morning," he called.  
"Good morning--Dwight," Prudence greeted. "Would you care for some breakfast?"  
"Oh, no thanks, Prudence, I already ate this morning," Dwight said. "But if you have coffee, that would be great."  
"I have brewed some on the stove, but it must be filtered to be drinkable," Prue frowned.  
"We'll work on learning how to use the coffeemaker when you get back," Duke told her. He was hungrier than he'd realized; either that, or Prue was no slouch in the kitchen. He finished the last forkful of potatoes, and wiped his mouth.  
"Dwight, be careful with her," Duke warned. "I know you want to cure everybody, but Prue's a little rusty. She's already cured three people in one day. We don't know how much she can take."  
"I know this, Duke," Dwight said sternly. "But Rory's already told the other members of the Guard about her. We're going to meet with the other leaders this morning and discuss what to do. Ideally, the Troubles that are the most dangerous need to be resolved first, like Lisa's."  
Duke bit down the remark that Dwight's Trouble had been only a danger to himself, but he held his tongue. Prue had offered to cure Dwight, she'd told him, he hadn't asked her to do it.  
"He saw I wasn't wearing my vest anymore, and he wanted to know how I was cured," Dwight was saying. "There are a lot of people desperate to be rid of their Troubles."  
Duke recalled Rory as being the one he'd tussled with at the gate. Rory Palmer had a Trouble that caused people to lose their memories for a few hours. Being a teacher, he would assign homework, but none of his students could ever remember him doing it, and Rory had ended up having to quit. It had made him embittered, and instead, he had become one of the Guard's 'enforcers'.  
Duke remembered even he had been hit with Rory's Trouble once himself, wondering who he was and why in the hell he was in a field before Nathan and Audrey arrived and reminded him that he was supposed to be helping them with a Trouble. Rory had thought it exceedingly funny; yet didn't see the humor in it at all when someone 'accidentally' nudged his truck into a fire zone, resulting in a ticket.  
"Just--be careful," Duke said in a gentler tone.  
"I'll look out for her, promise," Dwight stated. "Are you ready to go, Prue?"  
"Yes," she replied, and kissed Duke on his nose.  
"Do not worry so much," she whispered. "It will be fine in the end."  
"I hope so," Duke smiled.  
He dressed quickly, and drove down to the Gull, where he encountered Audrey, coming downstairs to start her day at Haven PD.  
"Is Prudence with you?" she asked.  
"No. Dwight already came by the _Rouge_ and snatched her up," Duke answered. "Unfortunately, the word's out about her-skill set."  
"It does make her incredibly valuable," Audrey murmured. "I don't understand how she can cure Troubles. How is she able to take them from people--without having to kill them? Does she keep them stored inside of her, like you do-or did?" she continued. "I really need to talk with her, but I'd like you there too," she finished. "She trusts you, Duke."  
"Mm," Duke said, scratching his jaw absently. "She does seem to, doesn't she?"  
Audrey didn't answer, and Duke had the sneaking suspicion that it wasn't all business she wanted to discuss with Prue--she wanted her to try to cure Nathan too.  
"Audrey--just _ask_ her to fix Nathan," Duke chided, a small smile on his face.  
"Gloria said that Prudence was mad at Nathan because he was a little rough with her at the cabin," Audrey told him, biting her lip. "Said she wouldn't fix him at this time."  
"So get him to apologize--nicely--and maybe she will," Duke grinned, and then sobered. "Dwight's got her meeting with his underlings this morning. The plan is try to eliminate the most dangerous Troubles first, though."  
He put a hand on Audrey's shoulder. "But I still believe in you, Audrey. Even if Prue cures every Trouble in Haven, it's been you who's figured it all out."  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Audrey smiled faintly. "But if you can, just--bring her by here tonight, and we'll all have dinner together, you, me, Prue and Nathan, and maybe we can figure out what to do."  
"We'll see," Duke answered cautiously. "I told Dwight not to wear her out today."  
"He'll look out for her, you know that. Dwight won't let anything happen to Prudence."

* * *

 

Out in Evergreen Gardens, Haven's oldest cemetery, Prudence and Dwight were walking among the tombstones. Some were recent, others were dated to the 1700's.  
The meeting with the other Guardsmen had gone well-they kept a detailed list of who had been hit with what Trouble, from the most dangerous to the least, and Prudence had promised to begin working to cure them within the next few days, but first, she needed to rest, and they had understood, promising to leave her and Duke alone until she was ready.  
She'd asked him to come here after the meeting, in hopes of finding her family's graves, but due to the fact it had been nearly 500 years since their passing, he had little hope of ever discovering where they'd been buried. Maybe Vince had found something, he thought, as he watched the Teagues crossing the cemetery towards them.  
"Vincent," Prudence greeted. "Have you found what I asked for?"  
"I believe that I have," Vince said.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

 

Audrey tried to keep her mind on her work, but her thoughts kept straying back to the mysterious Prudence Stillwater.  
At length, she departed for The Haven Herald, only to find that Vince and Dave were not in.  
"Are they on a paper delivery?" she asked Jill, the girl who was working in the office.  
"No, they said they had business to attend to," Jill replied.  
"I don't suppose they mentioned anything about Prudence Stillwater, did they?" Audrey asked on a hunch.  
"Vince was talking about that, now that you bring it up," Jill replied. "He was saying now that he's found new evidence regarding Prudence Stillwater's trial, that Betsy Harrigan was going to have to rewrite her witch trial book."  
"Would she know more about her, you think?"  
"Are you kidding? Betsy is our resident Prudence Stillwater expert," Jill laughed. "She's--eccentric."  
"So is most of Haven," Audrey grinned.  
"Yes, but she's very eccentric, even by Haven standards," Jill said peering over her glasses at Audrey. "She runs that kooky little shop at the end of Wainwright Alley, Alchemy Tea. She's got copies of her book for sale there also. She could tell you all about Prudence Stillwater."  
"Thanks for the info," Audrey said, and headed back out of the door.  
Audrey walked along the streets. She passed Rosemary's, and was tempted to stop in, but restrained herself.  
She was feeling proud of her willpower, when she rounded the corner and found herself standing outside of Alchemy Tea.  
It was somewhat rundown, and Audrey could see copies of Betsy's book, _Witch or Woman? The Trial of Prudence Stillwater by Elizabeth Harrigan_.  
There was an image taken from a woodcut carving, depicting a courtroom scene with a woman pointing to another woman in the witness box on the cover, and Audrey studied it for a moment, and then noticed the woman in the shop beckoning to her.  
Audrey went inside, the brass bell announcing her arrival. She could also see that Jill was not too far off from her description of Betsy-she was most definitely eccentric.  
"Welcome to Alchemy Tea," she greeted. She was dressed in a flowing duster, a peasant blouse, and had a myriad of necklaces with assorted carved figures on it. Her gray hair was swept up in a bun, with lots of tendrils escaping from it. She reminded Audrey of an aging hippie, and she came forward towards her.  
She peered through her round glasses closely at Audrey, giving her the appearance of a blue-eyed owl before she straightened up.  
"Mrs. Harrigan?" Audrey asked.  
"It's Miss Harrigan, but please, just Betsy," the older woman smiled. "You seem familiar to me somehow," she mused, studying Audrey. "Perhaps we met in another life."  
"Perhaps," Audrey got out. She glanced around the shop, and her eye fell on a rather dusty picture on a top shelf in a silver frame. It was Betsy from younger days, and standing alongside her, their arms around one another was herself, as Lucy Ripley!  
Audrey decided not to question her about it. She wasn't here for information on Lucy, she was here to learn about Prudence.  
"I understand you're the town's expert on Prudence Stillwater," Audrey began.  
"Oh, I wouldn't say I was an expert, per se," Betsy fobbed offhandedly, but looked secretly pleased at Audrey's remark. "I researched Prudence for twenty years before I wrote my book about her. She was a fascinating study," she enthused.  
"I'd like to buy a copy, but would you tell me a little about her too?" Audrey questioned.  
"According to everything I uncovered, Prudence Stillwater was not a witch, at least, not an evil one," Betsy answered. "She was a healer, descended from the Mik'Maq. I suspect that had a lot to do with it also," she muttered. "But Amos Flagg accused her of witchcraft and she was put on trial. They found her guilty, big surprise from a jury full of men," she went on. "I'm sorry," Betsy chuckled. "I think Prudence was railroaded. There were--occurrences happening in Haven then, and Prudence and one or two other women were blamed, but it was Prudence who paid the price."  
"What did they do to her?"  
"She was locked into an iron box and they threw her into the sea," Betsy said solemnly. "Supposedly, they said that she could not be killed by any other means."  
"What do you mean?" Audrey questioned.  
"Here, on page 145," Betsy told her, opening a copy of the book. "From Amos Flagg's journal--'Todaye we cast the unholy creature into the depths of the sea. Her pact with Lucifer has prevented her from dying by mortal hands; so shall she spend her Purgatory thinking on her sins at the bottom of the sea," she read aloud.  
"What do you think that means, that she couldn't die by mortal hands?" Audrey interrogated.  
"It is said that Prudence was quite lovely. Maybe her executioners couldn't bring themselves to do the bloody deed," Betsy said. "Other accounts say that perhaps Prudence really did make a pact in order to keep from dying."  
"What do you think really happened?"  
"I think that perhaps Prudence might have had some power as a shaman or healer, but people being as they were--and are, even in this day and age," Betsy continued as though she were giving a lecture. "People don't understand what they don't know. An all-too-common occurrence here in Haven, don't you agree?"  
Audrey nodded, noticing Betsy was once again studying her intently.  
_Does she remember me as Lucy?_ she thought. But aloud she said, "Did you-ever come across anything that might have said whether or not Prudence was married?"  
"Oh, she was married--Stillwater was her married name. Her maiden name was Crocker. I've often wanted to ask Mr. Crocker if he knew anything about her," Betsy said. "I once made the mistake of questioning his father if he knew anything regarding Prudence, but he got rather nasty about it," she muttered. "My friend Lucy--" she trailed off, her eyes widening at Audrey. "That's it!" she gasped. "You look so much like my friend Lucy! Are you her daughter?"  
"We're--related," Audrey said, not wanting to go into how she was really Lucy. "What about Lucy and Simon?"  
"Lucy said something about Simon had discovered the whereabouts of Prudence's coffin, and he wanted to dredge for it. He seemed to be of the opinion that she was still alive."  
"Do you think she might be?"  
"Oh, that's just a legend," Betsy waved her off. "No one could possibly be alive after hundreds of years on the bottom of the ocean," she chuckled.  
Audrey wasn't about to contradict her. But she knew that when Duke and Prudence came for dinner, she had some questions for the both of them.

* * *

 

Vince handed Prudence an ancient square of paper, and the two of them carefully unfolded it, as Dave and Dwight opened up a map of modern-day Haven.  
"I think what you're looking for may be located in this area," Vince told her.  
"What are you looking for?" Dwight asked.  
"There is a place in the woods where I placed something before I was--accused," Prudence replied, reading over the map. "I believe it to be in this region," she gestured at Dave and Dwight's map.  
Dave looked at it, and paled a little.  
"The Keegan place," he said.


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

 

After her talk with Betsy, Audrey left Alchemy Tea with an autographed copy of the book, and a candle that Betsy claimed 'helped with a tense atmosphere' but mostly because Audrey liked its scent of lemon and rosemary.  
Around four, she left work early, and she and Nathan hit the market, where they encountered Duke and Prudence.  
Prudence was looking over the meat section, a look of amazement and wonder on her face.  
"I can't imagine what the market was like in your day," Duke was saying.  
"You had to clean your own chickens," Prudence told him. "Not the tidiest job."  
"I remember my grandmother killing a chicken for dinner once--I couldn't eat it," Duke grinned, and then noticed Nathan and Audrey approaching.  
Prudence noticed them also, and Duke saw her stiffen.  
"She _really_ does not like you," Nathan whispered as they drew closer, seeing Prue's expression.  
"I know. Won't dinner be fun?" Audrey replied. "Hi guys," she greeted Duke and Prue. "What are you doing?"  
"Prue is getting a look at what going to the market entails these days," Duke told them.  
Prue touched a shoulder roast in the meat case.  
"Do they slaughter it in the back?" she asked, trying to peer through the doors.  
"No, it comes to the store in refrigerated trucks," Duke grinned.  
"Miraculous," Prudence breathed. "One often had to use the meat the same day you purchased it, or salt-cure it. Root vegetables and fruits could be made to last, properly stored. But meat was so perishable and went bad so quickly. Now you can keep it in the--frigid?" she finished, with a skeptical look on her face.  
"Fridge," Duke corrected, chuckling. "Frigid means something else entirely. We have a lot of modern conveniences now. I guess we take it for granted so much we don't notice things like that."  
He remembered something. "And that reminds me," he went on, taking a phone out of his jacket pocket. "This is for you, Prue."  
"I have seen these--phones, Vincent called it," Prue said, looking closer at it.  
"No princess phone?" Audrey smiled at him, remembering the pink glittery cell phone he'd given her on their first meeting. Well, second, if you counted him pulling her out unconscious from the harbor.  
"I was all out," Duke shot back. "Anyway, Prudence, this one has everyone's numbers programmed in. You press the 1 button, and it will ring my phone. Two is Vince and Dave, 3 is Dwight, 4 is Audrey and 5 is Nathan, so if you ever need one of us, just press one of those buttons. Just keep it with you."  
"I shall," Prudence replied. "Thank you, Duke."  
" _Some_ people can say it," Duke teased Audrey, who made a face at him.  
"Actually, Prudence, I wanted to invite you and Duke to dinner this evening. Duke said it was fine, that the two of you didn't have any plans," Audrey put in, hating herself for babbling.  
"He told me," Prudence answered. "Thank you, we accept."  
"Great," Audrey said. "Six o' clock?"  
"Fine," Duke interjected, hoping to end the icy-polite conversation for the time being.  
Prue and Duke made their way to the front, where Duke paid for their purchases. He kept stealing glances at Prue's necklace. He kept thinking he'd seen something similar to it in a museum once, and he asked her about it.  
"So what is the story behind your necklace?" he asked as he drove.  
"My grandfather received it as a gift from a man that he'd saved from a rival tribe," Prue began. "When I--became a woman--he gave it to me."  
"It's really old," Duke remarked.  
"As am I, great-great-grandson," Prudence smiled.  
"I forget that you're over 500 years old," Duke sighed, shaking his head as he opened her door for her.  
"I see that chivalry has not entirely died," Prue noted, smiling at him.  
"I guess things have changed a lot," Duke ceded. "So--you haven't really said," he went on as casually as he could. "How did your meeting go with Dwight and the other members of the Guard go?"  
"It went quite well," Prudence said. "I have told them that my curing them was conditional on the oath that they leave you and I be for the time being. I have to rest a few days," she sighed. "It is very taxing on my body to take on a curse."  
"Wish I could help," Duke replied. "I saw how tired you were yesterday."  
"Perhaps you could, Duke," Prue mused. "Perhaps you could. Would you be interested in taking a trek with me on the morrow?"  
"On the morr-oh, tomorrow, you mean," Duke said.  
"Yes, tomorrow. I need help in recovering an item that I left behind before my--punishment was inflicted upon me. An ancient artifact, given me by my grandfather."  
"An artifact? Do you think it's still gonna be there after all this time?" Duke questioned.  
"I left it well guarded. It is there," Prue replied. "So--if you wish to help me, then help me regain this item."  
"What is it?" Duke asked, burning with curiosity.  
"You shall see," Prue replied, gazing out the window.  
"Oh, now you're going to be all mysterious," Duke chided, and Prue smiled slightly.  
"You will see what it is soon enough. Provided, that is, that you are willing to assist me."  
"Wild horses wouldn't keep me away," Duke grinned, and Prue smiled and nodded.  
They arrived back at _The Cape Rouge_ , and put the groceries away, and then headed over to the Gull for dinner with Audrey.

* * *

 

"Audrey, calm down," Nathan soothed. "It's just Duke and Prudence coming to dinner, not the Queen of England."  
"I know," Audrey said. "I just want to make a good impression on her, Nathan. I tried to keep the meal--kind of homey, you know?" she gestured at the lovely table setting. "Gloria said Prudence probably isn't accustomed to heavy rich foods, so I kept it simple."  
"Well, you can't really go wrong with roasted chicken, potatoes and root vegetables," Nathan remarked, hungrily eyeing the meal Audrey had been working on since their return to her apartment. "And with that strawberry pie too? Prudence will fall in love with you," he grinned. "Now, relax--chill the wine, light the candles--"  
The word candles reminded Audrey of her purchases at Alchemy Tea earlier that day, and she fetched the candle out of the bag, and set it on a pillar, lighting it.  
Nathan picked up the book. " _Witch or Woman--The Trial of Prudence Stillwater_ ," he read the title aloud. "Hey, you got Betsy's book. She's kind of a odd bird."  
"Yeah, well, that odd bird knew Lucy," Audrey shot back. "There was a picture of she and I in her store when I was Lucy. They must have been friends."  
"Wow," Nathan said. "Did she say anything about Lucy?"  
"No, we mostly talked about Prudence. Betsy thinks she was railroaded on the charges. But she did say that she knew Prudence's maiden name was Crocker," she went on. "And she claimed that Duke's dad had found the location of Prue's coffin--he was going to dredge for it. She said he thought that she was still alive."  
"Why would he think that?" Nathan questioned, and then thought on it. "Unless somebody had told him she would be."  
"I don't know. But I'll tell you something else, Nathan. I looked in the police files about Simon's death, and according to the report, he was supposed to be going on a dredging job when he had his accident and was killed."  
"Coincidence?" Nathan said. Audrey shot him a look. "Or someone didn't _want_ him to find her coffin," he finished.  
"I was thinking along those lines myself," Audrey said somberly. "And if so, who and why?"  
"Maybe someone who didn't want their family history tarnished by having their ancestor named as somebody who took part in a witch hunt?" Nathan guessed.  
"Or that maybe Prudence isn't as innocent as she claims she is," Audrey said as she and Nathan heard Duke and Prudence's footsteps as they climbed the staircase to her apartment. "But I guess we'll find out soon enough."


	11. Chapter 11

**11**

 

Duke rapped on Audrey's door, and it was opened by Nathan, who gave Duke his usual nod.  
"Duke," Nate said.  
"Nate," Duke greeted.  
"Hey. Hello again, Mrs. Stillwater," Nathan answered.  
"You may call me Prudence, Constable," she replied.  
He stepped aside to allow them inside, and then faced Prudence directly.  
"I would like to apologize for being so rough with you yesterday," Nathan began. "I was--protecting my partner from someone who was trying to kill her."  
"I was not seriously maimed," Prudence replied. "And I accept your apology, Constable." She studied him a moment. "She is your partner, you say. You are in business together?"  
"The Trouble-solving business, you might say," Duke grinned. "He means that he and Audrey are both police officers--detectives. They work in pairs."  
"I see," Prudence replied. She glanced Nathan over. "I also understand that you and she are--quite close."  
"We're in a relationship, yes," Nathan answered, his eyes going to Audrey, who was coming over after taking the chicken out of the oven to rest before carving.  
"Hello, Prudence. Duke," she smiled, half wishing she could borrow Chris Brody's Trouble from him for just one night; but wasn't sure if it even would work on Prudence.  
"Chicken smells great," Duke said, trying to break the tension.  
"Would you care for anything to drink, Prudence? Tea, water, wine?" Audrey offered. "Have you tried soda yet, I have some if you would like."  
"Wine would be good," Prudence answered.  
"Make that two," Duke put in.  
"I'll pour," Nathan said, happy to have something to do other than stand there under Prue's solemn stare.  
Prudence moved around the room a bit, and her eye fell on the book that Audrey had purchased earlier.  
Duke also saw it, and went over to it.  
"I'd forgotten about that book," he remarked.  
"Someone wrote a book? About me?" Prudence said. "I remember that carving," she went on, seeing the picture on the front cover, her face growing angry again. "I am surprised you do not."  
"I've told you, Prudence--I don't remember anything from Mara," Audrey said. "What is it about that picture?"  
"That is _you_ , pointing at me in the witness box," Prudence told her coldly. "It was quite a performance you gave in the courtroom that day."  
"Prudence--I wish that I could take it all back. I wish I could give you back everything you lost. But I can't," Audrey told her, looking her in the eyes. "All I can do is try to make amends. To set things right in Haven," she went on. She'd hoped to be able to have this talk with her after dinner. But now would just have to do.  
"I bought this today, from the woman who wrote it. She said that she thought you were wrongfully accused," Audrey pressed. Silence. "She went on to say that she believes that one of your descendants had found the location of where your--coffin--was. He was going to dredge for it. And also that he felt that you were still alive. He wanted to find you."  
"Who was that?" Duke asked.  
Audrey looked at him. "According to Betsy Harrigan, it was your dad."  
"Dad didn't know anything about Prue."  
"Not that he ever said to you," Audrey said.  
"Dad always did play things close to the vest," Duke remarked. He looked to Prue. "Where did they--drop you over the side? Do you know?"  
"I was dropped into the deepest part of Nanagasset Bay, some twelve miles from shore," Prudence said.  
Duke gasped at that, and Audrey realized that he remembered that was where Simon had died.  
_That's right, he was there_ , she thought.  
"Prue and I are--" Duke began, but Prudence nudged him, and Duke fell silent.  
"You and Prue are what?" Nathan said.  
"Nothing," Duke answered, but Prudence spoke.  
"Duke and I are going to the North Woods tomorrow," she replied. "I believe where we are going is now owned by a family called Keegan."  
"You're going to the Keegan place?" Nathan blurted out. "Prudence, that's kind of a dangerous area to be in."  
"Provided that Duke and I do not disagree, it will be quite safe," Prue stated in her calm voice. "We are going to look for something."  
"Pirate treasure?" Nathan grinned.  
"She won't tell me what it is we're supposed to be looking for," Duke said, glancing at Prue, who remained enigmatic.  
"Well, maybe Audrey and I ought to go with you," Nathan suggested.  
"Um, no," Duke began, but Prue interrupted.  
"I think it would be quite a good idea," she smiled. "Perhaps we can establish a firmer footing with one another."  
Nathan looked to Audrey, who seemed pleased by Prue's statement.  
"Of course we'll come with you," Audrey smiled. "Well, dinner's ready, if you would like to sit down."  
Duke pulled out Prue's chair, and Nathan did the same for Audrey, and Prue bowed her head, holding Duke's hand in hers, and took Nathan's in her other.  
Nathan startled, his eyes wide.  
"What's the matter?" Audrey asked.  
"I thought I felt you touch me," Nathan told Prudence.  
"You may have," Prudence said. "I tested to see how strong your Trouble was. It's quite dug in. It will take time to remove it. But I think that I could."  
Nathan looked at Prue in disbelief, and Audrey held her breath. Would Prudence take Nathan's Trouble from him once and for all?  
Nathan found his voice. "I--appreciate your offer, Prudence. But right now, there are people much worse off in Haven than I am," he said. "Save your--Trouble--for them, and then you can fix me."  
Prudence nodded, gauging him, pleased with his answer.  
"That tells me something of the man you are, Constable Wuornos," she smiled. "That you put others before yourself. A lesser man would have demanded that I fix him immediately."  
"Nathan is a good man," Audrey stated, taking his hand in hers.  
"And she is a good woman, Prudence. Believe that," Nathan declared firmly.  
"Well, we shall see about that on the morrow, won't we? Now, if you would be so good as to offer the Grace, we will partake of Audrey's lovely meal."  
The dinner went smoothly, far better than Audrey had hoped for. Prudence seemed to be relaxing around her. _Maybe she is finally beginning to believe that I'm not out to hurt Haven anymore_ , she thought.  
Audrey heard someone coming up the stairs toward her apartment, and a knock at the door.  
She opened it to find Jackie, one of the servers.  
"Is Duke here?" she asked, and then spied him. "Duke, Miss Harrigan's downstairs. She says she wants to talk to you about something."  
"Ask her to come up here, please," Audrey said, and glanced at Prudence. "There's someone here she should meet."  
Jackie looked to Duke, who nodded agreement.  
"Tell her to come on up," he said.  
"Okay," Jackie answered, and disappeared downstairs again.  
A few minutes later, they heard a timorous rapping at the door, and Audrey opened it to find Betsy Harrigan.  
"Hello again, Detective Parker," she smiled. "Have you had a chance to read my book?"  
"Not yet," Audrey replied.  
Betsy peered around, seeing Nathan, Duke and Prudence.  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were giving a dinner party," she apologized. "But the girl downstairs told me to--"  
"Miss Harrigan," Duke cut in. "You wanted to see me about something?"  
"Yes, I did. I've been hearing that there's new evidence regarding Pru--" she trailed off, seeing Prudence standing there, glancing through the book, and then looked up at Betsy.  
"Reverend Flagg was wrong," Prudence spoke. "The man called William fired the pistol _after_ the accusation, not before." She closed the book. "But it is easy to see how the facts might have been misconstrued in the chaos and confusion that followed."  
"Now how would you know that?" Betsy said.  
Prudence gazed at her. "Because I am the woman he shot."  
"That's impossible," Betsy half-laughed.  
Audrey, Nathan and Duke all nodded.  
"Call Vince Teagues--he and Dave were both there when Prudence's casket washed ashore and was opened again," Nathan told her. "Betsy, this is Prudence Stillwater."  
Betsy's hands flew to her mouth.  
"So that's what he meant by I would have to rewrite my--" she gasped, drawing a little nearer to Prudence, wanting to believe she was real, but still unsure. "A-according to documents, Prudence had a fan-shaped birthmark on her upper inner right arm. Flagg claimed it was her witch's mark."  
Prudence removed her jacket and turned up her shirt sleeve, revealing the light brown mark on her arm that was the shape of a small fan.  
"So Simon was right--you were still alive," she whispered.  
"Now how did you know that my dad thought she was still alive?" Duke demanded.  
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Betsy said, barely able to keep her eyes off Prudence. "There was a document, or part of one that was uncovered about thirty years ago, that gave the location of where Prudence's--your--coffin was located. It also listed the names of the people who testified against you in your trial. But the document disappeared shortly after it surfaced," she went on.  
"I well remember the names of those called to testify," Prudence said. "Ezra Halleck and his harridan of a wife, Molly. She was the one who said that I cavorted with other women's husbands, including her own. In reality, it was her husband who could not keep his hands off other women," Prudence continued. "And Mara and William," she said pointedly at Audrey. "Also, there was Moses Knoll and a man whose first name escapes me but his surname was Driscomb."  
"Who found the document?" Nathan queried.  
"My friend, the one you resemble so much, Lucy," she told Audrey. Betsy's eyes were bright, and she touched Prue ever so gently, as if to prove to herself that she was no illusion.  
"You knew Lucy Ripley?" Nathan said.  
"Yes, we were close," Betsy answered. "And then, one day she just--disappeared. Simon tried to find her, because he thought she had run off with the document," she went on. "He thought he'd found her once, but it wasn't the right woman. Shortly after that, he said that the document had been recovered and that he was going to dredge for her--your--casket. But he died instead."  
"Why would they not want her found?" Duke said. "It was so long ago."  
"The people Prudence said testified against her, their descendants still live on in Haven," Audrey pointed out. "Maybe someone doesn't want their family name dragged through the mud as being part of a conspiracy to frame an innocent woman."  
Duke pondered on something. "You said a man named Driscomb testified against you?" he asked Prue.  
"Yes," Prudence replied.  
"Think that name could've degenerated from Driscomb to Driscoll, maybe?" Duke said, looking to Nathan and Audrey. "The Rev and Dad got awful chummy there toward the end of Dad's life. He even told me that he had worked with my dad--wanted me to be on his payroll too, but I turned him down."  
"You think the Rev had the document?" Audrey burst out.  
"Guess we'll never know now, considering he's dead too," Duke remarked, giving Audrey a side-eye, who glared at him in response before speaking again.  
"But do you think it could still be in his effects?" she pressed. "Would Hannah Driscoll still have all that?"  
"Well, why do you need to find that paper? We don't need to find Prudence's coffin, she's right here," Nathan argued. "Other than being a few centuries old, it's not worth much now."  
"Because it wasn't just the location of where Prudence's coffin was," Betsy said. "It was a signed pact between the families! It was the one paper that would exonerate Prudence beyond all doubt," she continued. "It would prove that they deliberately lied about her on the stand, and then kept where she'd been, well, imprisoned, for a lack of a better term, a secret."  
"I, for one, would like to see this document," Prudence stated.  
"Vince and Dave would be the most logical ones to ask about their knowledge of such a paper," Nathan said.  
Betsy gently touched Prudence on her shoulder.  
"I never thought you guilty, paper or not," she whispered.  
"I thank you for that, Mistress Harrigan," Prudence said. "I know the tales they tell around Haven regarding myself. But this mysterious paper could change all of that."  
Duke remembered the old rhyme about Prudence from when he was a kid, and they'd tell the story of Prudence Stillwater, the Wicked Witch of the North Woods as part of the annual Haven Halloween Carnival.

 

 

Prudence, Prudence, wicked witch  
With eyes like fire and hair like pitch.  
To do her in they tried and tried  
But the wicked old witch would never die.  
She was trapped in a box by the town  
And thrown in the ocean, down, down down.  
Threw her in and there she'll stay  
To wait until it's Judgement Day.  
Prudence, Prudence, wicked witch  
With eyes like fire and hair like pitch.

He glanced at Prudence, who was talking to Betsy.  
"Hard to believe that is the wicked witch of the North Woods," Nathan said in his ear, as he knew what Duke was thinking. "She seems so harmless."  
"She's not," Duke replied. "If she can cure Troubles, then she's the most valuable person in Haven."  
"And possibly one of the most dangerous to someone who wants that paper to stay hidden," Nathan said. "So for now, you and she have two new shadows--me and Audrey."  
"You can keep the other two and three following us around company," Duke said. "I've seen Guard members following us around--and they're watching the Rouge and the Gull."  
"I'll get Dwight to tell them to back off," Nathan promised.  
"No, so long as they keep their distance, they can look all they want. They don't want anything to happen to Prue either," Duke pointed out.  
"What's worrying me is that she wants to go out there to the North Woods," Nathan grumbled. "You know what happens when people disagree out there. So tomorrow, no matter what, we don't argue, right?"  
Duke extended his hand, and Nathan shook it. "Okay. I agree not to disagree with you tomorrow. At least till we're back in Haven. Not a problem."  
"Easier said than done," Nathan remarked.


	12. Chapter 12

**12**

 

Early the next morning, Duke stopped for gas and brought out a cocoa from the gas station for Prue, who sipped it, grimacing.  
"What is this?" she asked.  
"Is it too watery?" Duke questioned.  
"No, it's fine. It is--different," Prue remarked. "Not like the hot chocolate I remember. Mother made it as the French did."  
Duke recalled having some French hot cocoa when he was in Paris once--it was rich and buttery, almost like drinking liquefied chocolate frosting. He could see why Prue would notice the difference between it and the stuff that came out of the machine at the gas station.  
"Well, maybe we can make some the real way later on," Duke said, spying Nathan's Bronco coming down the road.  
They'd made arrangements to leave Duke's truck there, and would go on to the North Woods in the Bronco, feeling it would be better if they all stuck together.  
Prue seemed on edge, and Duke drew closer to her.  
"What's on your mind, Prue?" he asked softly.  
"It has been a long time since I have been there. I lived in those woods with my family," she answered quietly. "I don't suppose you ever saw a house there, did you?"  
Duke remembered he'd tramped all over those woods as a kid, and again with Audrey and Nathan when they were hunting for those Wendigo girls, and he'd never seen any evidence there had been a house there once, or had even heard of one being in the area, and he shook his head no.  
"I thought not," Prue said absently, and then smiled slightly at him. "But I think I remember the way."  
Nate pulled into the parking lot, up next to one of the gas pumps, and he and Audrey climbed out.  
"Good morning, Duke, Prue," Audrey called.  
"Morning," Duke greeted.  
"You two been here long?" Nathan questioned.  
"Not long," Duke said, ambling over to talk to Nathan while Audrey came up to Prudence.  
"How are you today?" she asked.  
"I am well," Prue replied. "I was asking Duke if he'd ever heard of a house being in the North Woods, and he said no. I don't imagine you have seen it either?"  
"No, I'm sorry," Audrey said. "I've never heard of a house being located in the woods there. Prue," she went on. "The reason we're all a little nervous about going there with you is--"  
"I know what the wood can do," Prue told her. "Therefore, it is tantamount that we not disagree with one another while we are there. Discord is what sets off--whatever it is that resides within the woods."  
"Did I--Mara--cause that?" Audrey asked, unable to help herself. Prue gave her a small smile, and shook her head.  
"No," Prue said. "For that, you are blameless. The Mik'Maq believed that there is something there that is part of the land, as old as time itself. It was there before man, and I imagine it will be there long after we are all gone," she went on.  
"An elemental spirit," Audrey smiled, and Prue glanced at her.  
"You seem to know something of it," she remarked.  
"Only because of Vince and Dave's research," Audrey confessed. "I'm surprised you didn't want them along with us."  
"I have agreed to meet with Vincent and David this evening," Prue replied. "Tomorrow, I will begin working on the worst of the afflicted in Haven. I'm stronger now," she told Audrey. "And if what I am looking for is still there, it will only serve to aid me."  
Audrey felt a faint foreboding at Prudence's words.  
_What exactly is it that she's looking for?_ she wondered. If it's something dangerous, _I don't know if we should let her have it._  
Audrey couldn't help but feel that they'd only heard one side of the story, and that was Prudence's. What if there was something to the witchcraft accusations? Nathan had told her the stories that he'd heard about her growing up.  
"Prudence is a Haven legend--a story told to kids to keep them from wandering off into the woods," he'd told her this morning. "It goes, 'If you go alone into the clearing in the North Woods at midnight and call her name out loud seven times, Prudence will supposedly appear and get you," he continued. "Other versions of the story is you get to the clearing and recite the old poem about her to make her appear. They used to do a hayride through the woods, and someone dressed as a witch would leap out at the passengers as part of the show."  
"You said used to," Audrey had said. "They don't do it anymore?"  
Nathan was quiet a moment. "No. Last time the Troubles were here, the girl who was dressed up as Prudence just up and disappeared. They never found any trace of her. People said that was because Prudence took revenge on her, that she was angry that people were mocking what happened to her, and the hayrides stopped after that."  
"Well, we might not want to tell Prue about all of that just now," Audrey had answered.  
"She said last night she knew the stories they told about her," Nathan replied. He sighed. "I keep trying to imagine what it's like to have her Trouble-to have people deliberately trying to kill you, your family witnessing it, only you can't die."  
Before Audrey could answer, the gas pump clicked off, and they saw Duke and Prudence coming toward them. Duke had grabbed some additional snacks and drinks, in case what Prue was looking for would take awhile to find.  
They climbed back into the Bronco, and they set off for the North Woods, and the Keegan place  
The sun was a bright ball in a hazy sky, the trees of the woods aflame in their fall colors. It was brisk, and Audrey sipped her coffee as Nathan parked the Bronco, and the four of them climbed out.  
They saw people emerging from the house. It was Beverly Keegan-Novelli and her husband Dom. Audrey smiled when she saw them; since Beverly and Dom had gotten back together after 30 years, they'd married a few weeks later. Two years later, they were still very much in love, holding hands like teenagers.  
They greeted Audrey with kisses, and shook Nathan and Duke's hands.  
"So how are things?" Audrey asked.  
"Wonderful," Beverly enthused. She looked at Dom, their faces beaming. "We just heard from the kids," she went on, referring to their grandchildren. "There's going to be a new family member next spring!"  
"Congratulations," Audrey said.  
"Our first great-grandchild," Dom put in proudly. He noticed Prudence, hovering silently in the background.  
"I'm Dom Novelli," he greeted, extending his hand to her.  
"Prudence," Prue replied, smiling. "Prudence-Crocker."

"I didn't realize you had a sister, Mr. Crocker," Beverly replied, glancing at him.  
"She was a surprise to me too," Duke said, glancing at Prudence.  
"I was so sorry to hear about your wife's passing," Beverly went on. "She was a lovely girl. And very persuasive."  
"That was Evi-she could charm the spots off a leopard," Duke replied. "He would have loved to have asked Beverly more about how Evi had come to get that little silver box back, but Audrey spoke again.  
"So, we shouldn't be more than a few hours in the woods," she was saying. "So if you don't see or hear from us by sunset, please call Haven PD."  
Beverly nodded. "Just--be careful out there. You don't want what happened to Dom to happen to you."  
"What did happen, Mr. Novelli?" Prue questioned.  
For answer, Dom turned his shirt sleeve up, revealing the awful scars that covered his arms.  
Prudence gently touched them, and nodded.  
"We will exercise the utmost caution," she said. She glanced around the farm, noting the construction taking place, the hay bales.  
"Looks like you guys are getting ready to throw a party," Audrey said.  
"Yes, it was Alex's idea--he wants to start the Witch of the North Woods hayride again," Dom answered.  
Duke saw Prudence's face darken.  
"What witch would that be?" she asked carefully.  
"You know, the old--well, no, I don't guess you're from Haven, are you?" Dom replied. "Well, there's an old tale around here about a woman who was said to be a witch. Her name was Prudence, like yours. Prudence Stillwater."  
"Do tell," Prue answered, her voice deadly calm.  
Duke put his arm around Prue's shoulder. He could feel she was wound as tightly as a spring, rigid with anger.  
"Sorry, Mr. Novelli," he half-laughed. "I'm afraid Prue's kind of taken a ribbing about her name, so that's a little bit of a sore subject."  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Crocker," Dom apologized. "I hope I didn't offend you."  
"It is fine," Prue got out. "No offense taken, sir."  
"Well, we're going to get going," Audrey said brightly. "So we'll see you after while."  
"Good luck," Beverly answered, and Duke steered Prue in the direction of the woods.  
Once out of earshot of the house, Prudence vented her anger.  
"You are from Haven, Nathaniel, Duke," she began hotly. "Suppose you enlighten me about this old tale of the Witch of the North Woods?"  
"It's just a stupid story," Duke soothed, but Prue wasn't having it.  
"Do you know what it was like for me?" she asked. Her eyes glinted with tears. "I was dragged in chains to a dank prison cell before I was hauled up before a magistrate," she said. "I was pilloried for two days in the town square for the whole of Haven to come and mock me," she wept. "But that was only the beginning."  
Audrey heard a faint rustling in the woods, and paled.  
"Prudence--it's all right," she commiserated. "Please, we'll talk about it. Just--calm down, okay?"  
Prudence shook her head. "I know what people of Haven think of me, that I was a creature of evil. But that was not _my_ title," she raged.  
This time, they all heard the crackle and rustle of something moving in the woods.  
"Prue--it's okay," Duke told her. "Just calm down. Let's find what you're looking for, and get out of here. Don't be angry, please. It makes--whatever--angry too."  
Prudence turned on her heel, stalking through the wood.  
Ahead of them, they could see a clearing. Known as the Witch's Circle, it was a strangely barren spot in the middle of some fairly dense woods, and Prudence went into the middle of it, the three following a short distance behind.  
Prudence moved to the outer edge, and selected a fallen branch. She spent a little time cleaning off the other limbs and twigs, leaving two that formed a sort of crude fork at the top of the branch.  
She then removed her necklace, and draped it between the branches, forming a sort of crude divining rod.  
Audrey, Duke and Nathan watched transfixed as Prue slowly began walking in a circle, whispering something in a language that they couldn't understand.  
The rustling continued in the woods.  
"What the hell is out there?" Nathan whispered to Duke. "Is she--making the roots react?"  
"I don't know," Duke said. Aloud he called to Prudence "Um--what are you doing, Prue?"  
Prudence ignored him, watching the necklace as it swung lazily in circles, and then seemed to pick up speed as she approached the outer edge of the clearing.  
When she stepped on the spot the necklace indicated, it stopped swinging, and Audrey's mouth fell open.  
"Here," Prudence said, patting the spot with her foot. "Bring me a spade."  
Duke came forward with the shovel, and Prue made to take it from him, but he refused.  
"I'll do it for you-I'm a gentleman," he grinned, and dug the spade deep into the earth.  
"No, I must--" Prue began, but was interrupted as the rustling grew into a crackling sound.  
"Duke, look out!" Nathan yelled, seeing the trailing roots coming for his friend.  
Duke looked up. It seemed as though the woods had come alive, the writhing, twisting roots of the trees snaking their way toward him.  
Prudence took the spade from him, and blocked him with her body, holding her hand out in front of her.  
" _Enqa'latl,_ " she said, her voice seeming to travel throughout the woods.  
Audrey, Duke and Nathan's jaws all dropped as the roots came to a grinding halt in front of Prudence, and then tentatively stretched out feelers, one touching Prue's hand.  
"What the hell?" Nathan breathed.  
Prudence glanced over her shoulder at the three, her eye settling on Audrey, and her gaze hardened.  
" _Mesnatl_ ," she uttered, and the roots sprang forward before they could even react, twisting and tangling the three of them in their grasp, tying them together.  
"Prudence, stop!" Duke cried, struggling to get free, but the roots held fast.  
All around them, the roots were emerging from the ground, stretching above their heads, weaving themselves through one another, forming a crude sort of cage.  
The roots holding the three released, joining the others in making the cage, leaving Audrey, Duke and Nathan in the middle of it.  
Nathan and Duke pulled and struggled with the roots, but they were as immovable as the trees themselves.  
Nathan tried to squeeze himself through a larger hole, but the roots readjusted themselves and he barely had time to pull himself back in before they closed the hole.  
"We're trapped," Audrey said. "She trapped us."  
Prudence approached the cage.  
"Prudence, what is this?" Nathan demanded.  
She gave him a small smile.  
"It seems there may have be some small grainlet of truth of William's accusation," she said.  
"You really are a witch," Audrey breathed. Prudence had laid a trap for them, and they'd fallen right into it.


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

 

Nathan, Duke and Audrey stared back at the slender woman who stood outside of the cage she had just constructed out of the tree roots.  
"When I said I had left it well-guarded, I did not exaggerate," Prue told them. "This was where my home stood once," she gestured at the barren circle. "I wanted to protect my family from _them_ ," she went on, and exhaled heavily, glancing at Duke. "But I failed to do so. Now perhaps I can remedy that."  
"Let us out of here," Audrey demanded.  
"When I have satisfied myself that you are changed, then I shall," Prudence replied. "But for now, I will leave you there."  
She turned and made to walk away but whirled back around.  
"And just so you know, that enclosure is more for your protection than my own," she finished, and went back to the place where Duke had dug into the ground.  
"Prue, let us out of here!" Duke yelled at her, but Prudence gestured vaguely behind her.  
"Silence," she uttered.  
"Help!" Nathan shouted. "Somebody help!"  
"Nathan, stop," Audrey said. "No one can hear us."  
"What do you mean, no one can hear us? I can hear myself," Nathan answered, puzzled.  
"She's made some kind of--sound barrier around us," Audrey replied. "We can hear in here, but outside of this cage, we can't be heard."  
"So she is actually a witch," Nathan breathed.  
"Not of the sort that you might imagine," Prudence called from where she was intently digging. "I was a shamana, a healer. A protectress," she continued.  
"You can hear us," Audrey said.  
"Of course. No one else can, however," Prudence told her, puffing slightly from the exertion of digging.  
Audrey mulled something over in her mind.  
"This sound barrier isn't witchcraft--it's a Trouble," she said.  
"What?" Nathan asked. "Prudence already has a Trouble, Audrey. She can't die."  
"And she can take other Troubles," Audrey replied. "What if--" she thought. "What if she's able to--use them, somehow."  
"You mean like Ian Haskell?" Duke questioned. "But he couldn't only hold onto more than one at a time."  
"Prudence is also a Crocker, like you," Audrey pointed out. "She's a Trouble storehouse. Maybe she found a way to utilize them."  
"Or use them like a weapon," Nathan muttered. He looked toward Prudence, who was still digging. She was about two feet into the ground, and they heard her spade strike something hard.  
Prudence dug feverishly, abandoning the shovel and using her fingers to loosen the object from the dirt, her attempt unsuccessful.  
She glanced back toward the cage, and gestured at it.  
The roots reactivated, and Audrey thought Prue was letting them go; but instead they wrapped around Duke, who yelped in protest, Nathan and Audrey tugging at them to try to free him, but the other vines pushed back at them, separating them from Duke.  
Instead of hurting him, however, the vines and roots pushed Duke to the outside of the cage, leaving her and Nathan still trapped inside. Duke looked from Nathan to Audrey and then back to Prudence.  
"Come help me, I cannot lift it," Prudence said.  
"Let them go," Duke answered sternly.  
"I have told you my conditions for doing so already. If you wish them let go, then you must help me with this first," Prudence said patiently as though explaining something to a child.  
Duke looked back at Audrey and Nathan, who nodded.  
"Go help her. But be careful," he uttered in a low voice. "But if you have to--use this," he whispered, offering Duke his service revolver.  
"I'm not killing her, Nathan," Duke shot back. "It won't do us or Haven any good--she can't die."  
He turned and headed over to the hole where Prudence was.  
"Did they try to convince you to kill me?" she asked. "I cannot die. If they wish me to demonstrate that fact, then I shall."  
"Prue, no one wants you to die, most of all, me," Duke told her. "But you have to learn to trust us. Mara is gone," he stressed. "And she's not coming back."  
"Help me free this, and then I shall know for certain that she is gone," Prudence replied, offering her hand to Duke, who helped her out of the hole.  
He peered down into the hole that Prudence had dug. There appeared to be a strongbox of some sort, buried deep into the mud. It had lain there so long the earth had become hard and compacted around it.  
Duke took his knife out and began cutting into the ground, carving out a trench around the box.  
Eventually he had carved it out enough on one side to be able to use the spade as a lever, and after much effort on he and Prudence's part, the earth finally gave up the box it had held onto for so long.  
Duke set it outside the hole, and Prudence knelt down alongside it, once again taking her necklace in hand.  
The strongbox appeared to be silver, and Duke recognized the pattern of the design as being identical to the smaller silver box and the larger one that had contained his father's weapons.  
"This was crafted by my father," Prudence said. She moved the clasp of her necklace, and a small key slid out from behind the skeletal carving on her pendant.  
She moved the cover over the keyhole, and inserted the key into the lock, turning it effortlessly even after five centuries.  
Inside, Duke saw several items; there was a book-shaped bundle wrapped in oilskin, and two conjoined small oval portraiture that he presumed to be Prue's children, judging by the way she held them in her hands, her eyes brimming with tears before she laid them tenderly back into the box.  
There was a cloth-wrapped object in there as well, and this Prudence removed, untying the old leather that bound it, her eyes traveling up to where Audrey was watching her intently. She unfolded the cloth, revealing what looked to be a doll, but Duke had been around the Mik'Maq when he was growing up enough to know a totem object when he saw one.  
Prudence took it in her hands, and showed it to Audrey, who merely watched, and Prue's face puzzled.  
"Do you not recognize it?" she asked.  
Audrey exhaled, exasperated.  
"No, I don't," she snapped.  
Prudence stood up, drawing closer to the cage with the totem doll, and faced it directly at Audrey.  
Audrey felt a momentary flash of something.  
It was something about the doll. She was in a wooden house, she and William, demanding the doll from Prudence, but she couldn't remember why. Before she even had to time to react, the memory was gone and Audrey gasped.  
_What is it and why is this thing so important?_ she thought. She looked back at Prudence, who was observing her closely, her eyes narrowed.  
"You remembered," she said evenly. "I saw it in your eyes--you remembered, did you not--Mara."  
Nathan felt cold fear clutch at his insides, because he'd seen it in Audrey's eyes too. Maybe Mara wasn't as dead as they all thought after all.


	14. Chapter 14

**14**

 

Audrey looked at Nathan, who was pale as Prudence turned and walked back to where the strongbox was.  
Nathan pulled Audrey around, studying her face closely. Whatever there had been, she was only Audrey now, he could see, her blue eyes focused on him, concerned.  
"What did you see?" he asked.  
"I don't know what you mean," Audrey said, puzzled.  
"When she showed you that--thing, you--reverted, for a second," Nathan told her. "Audrey--what if she's not dead?" he whispered, holding her closely.  
"She _has_ to be, Nathan--because of what happened to Duke," Audrey protested. "Charlotte said--"  
"Just because Charlotte said that, and the thing that happened with Duke, that doesn't necessarily mean it's really true. Audrey, you remembered what that thing was she showed you, I saw it in your face. So did Prudence," Nathan uttered in a low voice. "And she wasn't happy about it, either."  
"I can't say I'm too thrilled either," Audrey muttered.  
She glanced at Prue and Duke, both deeply involved in a long conversation, with Duke glancing back at the cage from time to time, his face also mirroring concern.  
"What do you mean, she remembered?" Duke was asking Prudence. "Mara's dead."  
"The expression on her face was not that of a dead woman," Prudence said grimly. "It only confirmed my belief that Mara is not dead, but dormant, somehow. This Audrey she alleges herself to be may simply be a facade. The proverbial Trojan horse, if you will."  
"You think Mara's still pretending to be Audrey, helping us, just until she could get what she's really after?" Duke asked. He didn't want to believe that Mara could be back. But at the same time, there was a tiny part of him that felt--something he couldn't describe. "What is it you think she wants, or do you know?"  
"She seems to have already achieved a great deal of what she wants, because of what was done to you," Prudence spoke.  
"She made me release all those Troubles on Haven," Duke said. "But what does this totem have to do with all of that?"  
"This is a key to the largest of the doorways between worlds," Prudence replied, turning the totem over in her hands.  
"Well--where's that? Vince and Dave never had any record of a thinny here in this part of Haven."  
"Here in these woods. Only I know of its location. Mara and William wanted me to tell them where it was, but I refused."  
"They found out you were putting the Troubles you cured back through there," Duke observed.  
Prudence nodded. "That is when they Troubled me. They told me that if I were to tell them its location, they would say that I was innocent in court, and I would be freed." Her face hardened. "But I knew better than to believe them."  
"Just how big is this door?"  
"Monstrously large," Prudence whispered. "I had only opened it a sliver when I used it, and it was all I could do to close even the smallest opening. Were it to be fully opened--"  
Duke didn't want to think about the consequences of what could happen if that were to come to pass. The possibility of William returning would be the least of their worries.  
"What can we do?" Duke asked softly.  
Prudence gazed at him, her icy blue eyes steady.  
"I think that we should send her back to her own realm and seal the doorways between our worlds. Forever."  
"Throw Audrey into the void, that's your solution," Duke said, his eyes flat. "Nathan will never let you do that. I won't help you do it either."  
"If she returns, you will not have a choice in the matter," Prudence stated firmly. She relented. "But for now, this Audrey seems to be mostly in control. Whether or not she continues to be able to remains to be seen. I will be observing her closely. She and I have much work to do here in Haven," she continued.  
Duke felt a chill run down his spine. He remembered Mara saying the same thing at the lighthouse when she'd first emerged, that she and William still had work to do in Haven, before it had collapsed, and he'd been teleported somewhere else, and Jennifer had died.  
Prudence put a hand on Duke's cheek, her face sympathetic.  
"I know it is difficult for you to believe. But later tonight--I will show you what happened back then," she promised softly. "But only you. You are my blood, my kin. I am asking for your help. If she is truly Audrey, then she will win out over Mara. There may be a way I can cast Mara out, and if I can, I will."  
"You mean--exorcise Mara out of Audrey?" Duke said.  
Prudence nodded. "It is dangerous, but it could be done. It will mean opening the door. And if I fail--" she trailed off, and looked at Duke. "Then it means that you must finish it."  
"I don't know anything about it," Duke protested.  
Prudence nodded again. "Then I will teach you what you need to know. Someone should have taught our line all along, instead of simply asking them to kill the afflicted to take their curses. How many might have still lived?" she finished, and headed back toward Nathan and Audrey.  
"How many indeed," Duke grumbled, and followed over.  
Nathan and Audrey looked at Prudence, who gestured once more, and this time the roots receded, worming themselves back down into the ground, leaving the pair freed from their primitive cage.  
"What did you remember?" Prudence asked Audrey.  
"It was just for a second. Maybe it's some sort of residual memory," Audrey said brightly. "Like finding an old piece of clothing in a new apartment or something."  
"What did you remember Audrey, exactly?" Nathan asked. "We're all here, it's okay. Try to remember."  
"We were in a house--Prudence, William and me," Audrey said. "That's all I remember. I wanted that--whatever, for some reason, and that's all I know, I swear." She peered at the strongbox. "What is it, exactly?"  
"It's a key," Duke spoke up. "Prue says it's to a huge thinny that's not on any of the maps."  
"That would be valuable to Mara," Nathan grumbled.  
"I'm not her anymore!" Audrey protested vehemently. _But then why would I have remembered arguing with Prudence about that key if she was really gone?_ she thought. Maybe it was time she and Charlotte had a sit-down again.  
"Prudence--do you remember a woman called Charlotte?" Audrey asked. "She's Mara's mother."  
Prudence looked shocked at the mention of her name.  
"Charlotte Cross," she replied. "I remember her. She tried to help me-she was the only woman who spoke in my favor in court, not against me. Little good it did me, however." Her eyes misted. "The morning I was shut into the box, she came to see me at the jail, her and her servant, Byron," she went on. "She told me, 'We are going to make things right again, Prudence. Starting tonight."  
"What did she mean by that?" Nathan questioned.  
"I do not know," Prudence answered. "After she left, I was brought on board a ship, and we sailed out into Nanagasset Bay. I think you know what followed."  
"I think it's time you and Charlotte and Prudence all had a talk," Nathan told Audrey, who nodded agreement.  
"I was thinking the exact same thing," she said.  
"Charlotte still lives?" Prudence asked. "She must be terribly old by now."  
"Well, whatever she uses on her face must work wonders, because I bet she looks the same now as she did back then," Duke quipped.  
He took the box from Prudence, and the three of them made their way back out of the woods. It was going on late afternoon, the shadows stretching themselves along the ground, but thankfully, there was no more rustling from the roots.  
No one spoke much on the way back to Duke's truck, each involved with his or her own thoughts.  
"You two gonna be okay?" Nathan questioned Duke.  
"I think the question is more are you two going to be okay," Duke half-smiled.  
"What did you two talk about out there anyway?" Nate said softly, waiting until Prue had gotten into Duke's truck. "It looked like a pretty heavy conversation."  
"It was," Duke exhaled. Right now, the last thing Nathan needed to hear was Prudence's idea of a solution, so he chose not to elaborate further.  
"Duke--what if Mara does come back?" Nathan whispered.  
Duke could see the uncertainty and fear in Nathan's eyes at the possibility of losing Audrey again, maybe forever this time, and if that happened, then he didn't know what he or Nathan would do.  
"We'll cross that bridge if we ever come to it," Duke answered, hoping he sounded reassuring. "But she's all Audrey now, right? Maybe it was like she said, just a lingering memory."  
"Maybe," Nathan muttered vaguely. "I'll see you tomorrow, Duke," he finished, climbing up into the Bronco.  
"I hope so," Duke sighed, glancing back at Prue, who was steadily watching him. "I sure as hell hope so."  
They drove back into Haven, reaching the marina just as the sun was setting into the sea, an bright orange ball set against a deepening purple sky.  
Any other night, Duke would have appreciated the sunset, But his mind was too full of the events of the day.  
He was half-aware that Prudence had been bustling about all evening, fetching things here and there, setting up something in the room where he'd kept Mara prisoner.  
At length, she came and found him nursing a drink up on deck.  
"I am ready," she said from the doorway. "Are you?"  
Duke swallowed the last of his whiskey.  
"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied, and ducked inside.

* * *

  
At Audrey's apartment, she and Nathan huddled close together on the couch.  
Neither spoke much; Nathan just held her close, bestowing small kisses on her head, her face.  
"I love you, Audrey," he whispered. "I'll never let you go. I'll keep you safe, I promise."  
"Or die trying to," Audrey finished. "I love you too, Nathan," she choked. The thought of losing him too was crushing down on her and tears leaked from her eyes. "I won't give up, Nathan. Even if she's not dead, I won't let her win. I won't," she finished, her tone fierce.  
"That's my Parker," Nathan smiled tenderly, gently wiping her tears away as they began to kiss passionately.

* * *

  
On board the Rouge, Prue offered Duke a small bowl of liquid, and took one for herself.  
Duke grinned at it. He could see the thin dried slice of _psyilocybe coprophila_ , or psychedelic mushroom floating on the top.  
"It is to help you to relax," Prue said.  
"I never took one of these for relaxation," Duke answered wryly. " _Recreation_ , yes, but not relaxation."  
"There is not enough of it to cause you to experience wild visions," Prue told him. "But you must be able to relax yourself to experience what I will show you."  
She lifted her cup to her lips and Duke followed suit, both of them downing the tea in one gulp.  
Prue motioned for him to sit down with her in the midst of the candles lit all around them.  
She picked up a small knife, and inflicted a small cut on her palm.  
"Do likewise," she instructed.  
Duke took the blade, and did as she asked.  
Prue placed her bloodied palm on top of Duke's. Almost immediately, he felt the charge of her blood, his eyes turning to same color as his great-grandmother's.  
The high was more intense than any he'd experienced before and Duke felt like he was about to levitate out of his body, and Prue seemed to be experiencing it also.  
"They made this curse addictive," she gasped. "In order to ensure that your ancestors would wish to kill in order to achieve it."  
"I've tried not to give in to it," Duke uttered. "But it's really hard. I lost my father and my brother to it."  
"I know," Prue assured him. "As we are kin, your blood is reacting to mine more intensely than you would normally experience from touching Troubled blood," she went on, her voice soft and dreamlike. "You will see what I saw. There is nothing to fear--they are only shadows from the past, and cannot be changed, nor can they affect us," she finished. "Close your eyes. Focus on my hands, my voice."  
Duke did as she asked, and felt the pull between them growing stronger, as Prue's mind linked with his. He felt as though they were going down a long dark tunnel, twisting and turning. He felt a little scared, but he could feel Prue's reassuring grasp on his hands, and he relaxed. They had stopped moving, and he detected light through his closed eyelids.  
"Open your eyes," Prue whispered. "We are there."  
Duke slowly opened his eyes, and gasped at what he saw.


	15. Chapter 15

**15**

 

_I don't own the characters, but they're fun to write about. Reviews are welcome-if you like it, please say so!_

 

Vince laid his cell phone down, frowning. He'd tried calling both Duke and Prudence, but neither were answering their phone.  
He settled deeper into his coat out on the porch, mulling over what he'd learned on his dig into the archives. The document that Betsy had told him about was not there.  
He'd been fairly certain that he didn't before he'd even gone in there, which meant that Driscoll must have had hold of it. He resolved to call Hannah in the morning, to make a date to go through Ed's storage locker. If the selectman and his bunch hadn't beaten him to it already.  
He recalled a time thirty years back, when Betsy and Lucy had first shown it to him.

* * *

 

"There, you see, Vince?" Betsy said. "They were all a part of the pact to frame Prudence Stillwater, the Hallecks, the Knolls, and the Driscombs."  
"But why frame an innocent woman?" he questioned.  
"Maybe when we find her, we can ask her that," Lucy replied, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder. "According to Amos Flagg's journal, Prudence couldn't die. No matter what they did to her, she always revived."  
"So you two think that she's still alive at the bottom of the sea," Vince said dubiously. "Even if that is true, what could be gained by finding her?"  
"Maybe she knows how to end the Troubles," Lucy pointed out. "If she can, we need to locate her--and soon," she finished nervously. The Hunter was only two weeks away, Vince knew. And when it came--Lucy would be gone, just as Sarah had been gone twenty-eight years ago.  
Garland leaned against the corner filing cabinet, smoking a cigarette next to Dave, who was doing the same, having their own conversation.  
Dave knew Lucy's imminent departure was weighing heavily on Garland's mind. They shared a bond, he and Lucy. It wasn't love, exactly; but he cared for her as much as he did for Gwen, his wife, and their boy.  
"She's my partner," he would say. "She may not be a real cop, but I'd sooner have Lucy watching my back before anybody else."  
"You talk with Simon about the map?" Dave asked him.  
"No. I told Lucy we shouldn't have anything more to do with him," Garland answered sharply. "She still thinks he can help. I told her best to just leave him be."  
His eyes traveled over to Lucy. "She's doin' it more for his kid than anything else," he uttered. "Kid might be a brat, but he deserves better than to have to grow up with his family's legacy hanging over his head, having to--" he broke off, stubbing out his cigarette. "Anyway, it's just a legend about old Prue Stillwater, right?" he half-grinned.  
"Yeah, sure," Dave grinned halfheartedly.

"Would you talk to Simon about possibly doing a dredge, to see if we could at least locate Prudence's coffin?" Lucy asked Vince.  
"I don't know," Vince said slowly. "We've--come to a fork in the road in our friendship. He's changed."  
"I've noticed," Lucy replied curtly. "What's happened to him? He and Garland were friends; now they can barely stand to be in a room with each other. He didn't used to be like that."  
Vince did not have the heart to tell her that he knew what had happened to Simon Crocker. That he'd activated his Trouble, in order to try to spare his wife's family the horror of their own Trouble. But like so many Crockers before him, the lure of the high he experienced from the blood rush proved to be too much for him; and now Simon was on the Guard's Most Wanted list. He'd failed not only Simon, but his wife as well. Too horrified by what he'd done, she'd packed and gone, taking their little girl with her.  
The situation was made even worse now that Simon seemed to be working with Reverend Driscoll, the religious zealot who'd come to Haven six months ago. Angry and embittered from the first, he became even worse after the death of his wife, and once he'd found out what Simon could do with his Trouble, he'd wasted no time in recruiting him to their side. He saw the Troubled as cursed, brought upon themselves by their own actions.  
"I'll talk to him, Lucy," Vince said, putting a hand on Lucy's shoulder. God, she was so much like Sarah, those penetrating blue eyes looking back at him, he wanted to tell her so much of who she once was, but he couldn't.

* * *

 

"Vince!" Dave yelled, startling Vince out of his reverie.  
"What, Dave?" he asked irritably.  
"Did you get hold of Duke and Prudence?"  
"No," Vince said. "Neither of them's picking up the phone."  
"You think maybe we should go over and see about them?" Dave asked. "I know Dwight's got people watching over them, but you know with a Trouble like hers--"  
"I'm well aware of Prudence's abilities, and you're right, it makes her exceedingly valuable to the Guard," Vince told him. "But for now, we'll wait to see if Duke calls us back in the next hour or so. If he doesn't, then we'll go over there."

* * *

 

Duke looked around him. The Haven he knew was gone, and in its place was a village. It was more of a settlement than a village at that time, with muddy streets and wooden houses with thatched rooftops.  
Everywhere, people were dressed in clothes like he'd seen on the Pilgrims--tall black broad-brimmed hats on the men, the women daintily holding up their skirts as they tried to navigate their way through the mud as they marketed, gossiped and did wash in the large fountain in the middle of the town square.  
"Prudence," he heard a voice that sounded remarkably similar to his own call out, and he turned in the direction of it.  
"God, you said I looked like him, but I didn't think it was _that_ much like him," Duke got out. It was like watching himself in a movie, as Josiah Crocker made his way through the crowd to a different Prudence, a small boy running to greet him. Josiah scooped him up, and set him on his shoulders as he walked to meet his twin sister.  
"You do resemble him greatly," Prue murmured.  
"Josiah," Prudence greeted and pecked his cheek. "Samuel is getting too big for that," she scolded affectionately.  
"He's still a boy. He'll be a man soon enough, let him enjoy being a child while he can," Josiah answered. He stepped closer to Prudence even as Duke and the current Prue moved toward them to hear their conversation.  
"I heard that they came to see you," Josiah was saying. "Did they--harm you, like they have others?"  
"No, I was not harmed," the past Prudence said. "And even if they did, there is nothing they can do to me to make me tell. That _must_ remain secret, Josiah," she urged. "Promise me no matter what, you must remain silent."  
"I give you my word, Prue," Josiah said, his hand in hers. "No matter what may come."  
Out of the corner of his eye, Duke spotted movement in a cluster of men coming out of the tavern, and he recognized one of them.  
"William," he gasped.  
"These are only images of the past," Prue reminded him. "We can neither be seen or heard."  
There was another man talking to another group of men, dressed in a black robe with a stiff white collar. He had white hair, and a hard, florid face.  
"That is Amos Flagg," Prudence replied in his ear. Her eyes turned back to the man who'd been her brother and her son and daughter, who had joined them by now, a sad smile on her face.  
Duke saw William spot Prudence, and he stepped through the crowd and onto the village green.  
"Prudence Stillwater!" he shouted.  
The town square fell dead silent.  
"Prudence Stillwater, I accuse you of practicing witchcraft; and of being in league with the Prince of Darkness!" William shouted at the top of his lungs.  
For a moment, there was silence; and then loud mumbling broke out.  
"You are a liar most foul, sir!" Josiah said sharply. "If her husband does not demand it, then you will give _me_ satisfaction for that accusation!"  
The man Prue had told him was Amos Flagg stepped forward.  
"That is a _most_ serious allegation, sir," he said in a deep rumbling voice. "Can you prove it?"  
"I can indeed, Reverend," William stated. He drew out a pistol, and cocking the hammer, aimed it directly at Prudence.  
" _No_!" Josiah cried out as William fired the pistol.  
The Prudence of this time fell backward, the shot hitting her directly in the heart as women and children screamed, and the men with William seized him. Prue fell to the ground, the front of her dress soaked with blood. She couldn't possibly have survived the shot, he knew. He'd seen enough death to know that the Prudence of 1515 was most assuredly dead when she hit the ground.  
"You will hang for murder, sir!" one man said.  
Josiah had gathered Prue in his arms, holding her closely as a blonde-haired man ran up to them, kneeling down next to them.  
"Prudence--dearest," he said brokenly.  
"Take the children away, Daniel," Josiah told him, still holding Prue's body in his arms. "Don't let them see her like this."  
Daniel pulled his hysterical daughter and crying son close to him, as more people grabbed hold of William.  
Duke spotted Mara also in the crowd, her face hidden beneath a large straw hat, but he could see her smile even from here as she and William's little drama they had arranged played out.  
"Wait--just wait!" William was shouting. "You will see in a moment that I am right!"  
In Josiah's arms, Duke could see Prudence stir.  
"Sh, sh, lie still," Josiah soothed.  
"Examine her," William called out. "You will see there is no wound. She has made a pact with the Devil to prevent her from dying!"  
By now another man Duke surmised to be the doctor approached, along with Reverend Flagg.  
"Let me see her," the doctor urged, and Josiah eased Prudence to the ground.  
Duke could see the fear in past Prue's eyes as she had begun to realize that William was right--that there was no longer a wound in her chest where her heart was located.  
"Bring water," the doctor said, and a woman set a wooden pail with a rag in it next to him.  
He washed the front of Prudence's bodice, his face growing more horrified as he realized that William was right.  
"There is no wound," he said. "There is blood, but there is no longer a wound."  
"What?" Josiah gasped.  
Amos Flagg's face hardened as he looked down at Prudence.  
"Mistress Stillwater," he began. "You have been accused of witchery. I would say that this gentleman has offered us ample proof of it."  
"No!" Josiah protested, but it was too late. The murmurs of 'witch' had already begun to spread through the crowd, and Prudence was hauled to her feet unceremoniously as the crowd began to shriek, "Witch! Witch!"  
The images shifted before their eyes, and now it was nightfall, and Duke could see Prudence, her head and hands cruelly locked in a pillory, as her brother Josiah crept silently to her, offering her a cup to her lips.  
"Go home, Josiah," Prudence was saying weakly. "You should not be here--you should be abed, resting."  
Josiah coughed weakly, and Duke realized he was sick. There were fever blisters around his mouth, and he wondered if Josiah had that fever that Daryl had caused a few months ago back in Haven before Mara had stabbed him.  
"Should you be doing that, Master Crocker?" he heard an all-too-familiar voice call out, and Duke turned to see Mara strolling towards them. "You may find yourself in the pillory next to your sister for giving her aid."  
"Leave her be," Josiah threatened. "Have you not caused enough misery and pain?"  
"All she has to do is to give me what I want, and all this will stop," Mara replied. "So what say you, Prudence?"  
"I know what you want--and my answer remains no," the pilloried Prue said.  
Mara drew closer, smirking that evil little leer she had.  
"It will only get worse," she said in a low voice. "Until you give me what I'm after, I will continue to inflict curse after curse on these people. If you care so much for them, you will make it stop, right now."  
"No," Prudence said stubbornly. "Do thy worst, witch. You'll not have it--not now, not ever."  
"As you wish," Mara taunted, and sauntered away.  
The scene changed once more, this time to a courtroom, where Prue stood in chains as sentence was pronounced.  
She was led out of the jail and onto a gallows, where once again, Duke saw that Prue was right; she could not die. He witnessed what followed next, as the town tried to execute her repeatedly, and his heart ached for her.  
"No wonder you hate Audrey so," he said.  
"It is not Audrey that I hate," Prue spoke.  
The scene changed once more, to a dimly lit jail cell, where he saw Prue, still in chains, sitting on a cot.  
"Prudence," he heard from the door, and looked to see Charlotte, along with an African-American man, and with a shock, Duke recognized him as Agent Howard!  
"Charlotte," the jailed Prue said, shuffling in her chains toward the door.  
Charlotte's eyes brimmed with tears.  
"I'm so sorry," she said softly. "I tried to help you."  
"You made a valiant effort," Prudence replied. "But the doorway remains secret with me. Josiah is dead. My husband has forsaken me and our children," she continued. "I could not stop her and her companion. But the doorway shall remain forever closed." She closed her eyes. "Perhaps this time when they try to murder me, they will be successful."  
"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you," Charlotte answered. "But we are going to set things right in Haven. Starting tonight. Mara will be made to see the error of her ways."  
"I do not think she will listen to reason," Prudence said. "She is quite mad."  
"It is not madness; I think it aether poisoning."  
"I am unfamiliar with that poison, Charlotte."  
"No, you wouldn't know it," Charlotte half-smiled. "It comes from somewhere far away. The substance she uses to cause the afflictions she creates has affected her mind--just as hatters are affected by the substances they use," she continued, referring to the fact that hatmakers often used mercury in the making of hats, which caused madness after prolonged exposure.  
"But Charlotte and I have a solution in mind. Mara will be made to understand. And William shall be brought to bear as well," the man Duke knew as Agent Howard assured her. He studied her a moment, and then touched Prue's hand. "You are a brave woman, Mistress Stillwater. Perhaps our paths may cross again someday."  
"The Barn," Duke uttered. "This must have been when Charlotte and Howard created the Barn!"  
The scene disappeared into a whirling vortex of smoke and Duke once again found himself sitting opposite Prudence, back in their own time once more.  
He was drenched with sweat, and could see that Prue was the same, her hair damp around her face. He glanced at his phone and realized they'd been there the better part of two hours!  
"You saw all that occurred," she gasped, both of them struggling to rise, their legs long asleep. "What was this barn that you spoke of?"  
"Charlotte and Howard created a barn--but it wasn't actually a barn, it was like an inter-dimensional jail cell," Duke explained. "They made Mara forget who she was. And when she came out of the Barn 27 years later, she would help the Troubled, until it was time for her to go back into it. That's how Charlotte's been trying to cure the Troubles for the last 500 years. Every twenty-seven years, she would come as a new person, to help resolve the Troubles. But it got all screwed up," he finished.  
"You and your friend Nathaniel interfered," Prue spoke.  
"No! Well--uh, well, yeah," Duke said. "And we've been trying to set things right ever since."  
Prue nodded.  
"Then perhaps Charlotte and Audrey and myself can find a way," she said simply. "But it must end, great-grandson. One way or another, it must end, and I will take any measure I have to."  
Duke could see by her expression that Prue meant every word of it. But before he could answer, his phone beeped, and he grabbed at it, glad for the distraction.  
"Vince," he said, relieved.  
"Are you and Prudence all right? We've tried to call for hours," Vince scolded on the other end.  
"Yeah," Duke sighed. "We're--all right. For now, anyway."  
_But for how much longer?_


	16. Chapter 16

**16**

 

The following morning, Audrey woke before dawn. She crept cautiously over Nathan's sleeping form, and made her way to the coffeemaker, just finishing its preset brewing.  
She had lain awake the better part of the night, thinking over the events of yesterday.  
_You remembered_ , Nathan and Prudence had said. But try as she might, Audrey could not recall what it was she had remembered about the totem. Prudence had told them it was the key to a thinny, the largest known to exist. Somehow, it had escaped being detected all these years, and only Prudence and her family had known of it. Mara and William wanted to know where it was, but why, when they had five other portals to choose from. What made this one thinny so special that Josiah Crocker took its location to his grave and caused Prudence to sacrifice everything?  
_If Mara were still here, maybe I could ask her_ , she thought. She'd never felt like Mara was was still there, lurking in her subconscious. But judging by Nathan and Prudence's reactions, they clearly saw something of her yesterday in the North Woods.  
Audrey sipped her coffee, and thought about Charlotte.  
She'd chosen not to stay in constant contact with her; it was too weird to spend much time with her, knowing that she was her mother. Mothers were supposed to be older than you, and Charlotte didn't look a day over 35. _But then again, neither do I,_ Audrey reflected. She would speak with Charlotte, to see what she might know about Prudence Stillwater; and for a moment, she wished she could question Mara about her.  
"Morning," Nathan grumbled from the bed.  
"Hi," she smiled, padding back over to the bed with a cup of coffee for Nathan, getting a good-morning kiss in return.  
"You were kind of restless last night," he remarked.  
"Sorry," Audrey half-smiled. "I had a lot to think about after yesterday."

* * *

 

Prudence got up to find Duke out on the deck, watching the fishing boats sailing out at first light.  
He'd dreamed about Jennifer again last night. This time, they were back in the field where they'd found the door to allow Audrey back into this realm again, only this time, it was only the two of them.  
In the dream, he'd had a terrible sense of foreboding, and he begged Jennifer not to open the door. She'd laughed, and turned the knob. When she opened the door, she began to scream and Duke had jerked himself awake.  
"You seem tired," Prudence spoke, startling him.  
"I didn't sleep very well," Duke muttered. He thought a moment. "I keep dreaming about Jennifer. I haven't done that for a long time."  
"It is said when we dream of loved ones who are gone, they are visiting us from heaven," Prue smiled gently.  
"Feels more like the other place than Heaven," Duke grouched. He turned his hand over to look at the cut he'd inflicted last night. To his surprise, the wound had already closed, turning a healthy pink as it healed.  
"What is the matter?" Prue said, seeing him looking at his hand. "Has your cut become infected?"  
"No," Duke replied. "It's almost healed. Did you do that, Prue?"  
Prudence sat down next to him, examining his hand.  
"Perhaps my blood helped you to heal sooner. We are related by it after all," she chuckled. "Now--I have prepared breakfast below decks, and then I am to meet with Dwight and Vincent this morning."  
"You're going to start curing people this morning," Duke said. "You want Audrey to join you?"  
"If you wish for me to have her there," Prue replied cautiously. "Then yes, she may join me."  
"What do _you_ wish, Prue?" Duke told her. "You're allowed to make your own decisions now, Prudence. You don't have to do what men tell you to do anymore. You're not property, you're a person. Don't be wishy-washy," he grinned. "You're a _Crocker_ , for crying out loud!"  
"Believe it to be so, great-grandson, were you to ask anyone who knew me in my time, they should describe me as anything but wishy-washy," Prue laughed. "Very well then--I would prefer to do the first round of afflicted persons without her. Even you cannot attend, it will simply be myself and the persons afflicted. Their curses are even more dangerous than Mistress Hawkins' was."  
Duke shuddered to think of the possibilities of what those Troubles could be like.  
"Just--be careful. Okay?" he asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?"  
"Provide a quiet refuge," she half-smiled. "I shall need it before the day is through."  
"One quiet refuge coming up," Duke promised.  
He looked down at the docks, and could see Dwight's truck creeping along.  
"He doesn't want to waste time, does he?" he grumbled.  
Dwight climbed out, ascending the gangplank. It was still something of a shock to see him without his flak vest on. The new Un-Troubled Sasquatch was going to take some getting used to. He wondered what it would be like for Nathan when Prue cured him. Nathan had wanted to touch and feel everything when Ian Haskell had stolen his Trouble, and Duke grinned at the memory of telling him that he'd 'introduce' him to a few ladies who would be 'more than happy to help him process.'  
"What's funny?" Dwight asked, seeing his grin.  
"Still getting used to not seeing you in that vest," Duke replied.  
"It's been kind of a transition for me too," Dwight said, running his hand down his chest. "I almost feel-naked-somehow."  
Prudence returned from gathering her coat. She'd chosen a woolen coat with a hood and a fluttery hem. It was a little Stevie Nicks-ish for Duke's taste, but on Prue it suited her. She was dressed in all black, and it only added her to mystique, from what he could see of the look on Dwight's face.  
"Good morning, Prudence," Dwight greeted. "How are you? Feeling no ill effects?"  
"I am quite well, thank you," Prue replied.  
"Are you getting settled into the 21st Century?"  
"It is an adjustment," Prue smiled ruefully. "But I am managing so far. Duke has been most instructive," she gestured at him, and Duke shuffled a bit.  
"So you two are getting along okay?" Dwight said. "I heard things are still kind of rocky between you and Audrey, Prue," he went on. "She's a good girl, Prudence. Just give her a chance, and you'll see that."  
"So everyone tells me," Prue responded. "Well, the poor souls you've gathered for me to treat should not wait much longer. Shall we go?"  
"After you," Dwight gestured, and Prudence stepped onto the gangplank. He made to follow her, and Duke caught his arm.  
"Dwight, don't overload her," he said. "Some things--happened--yesterday."  
"What things?" Dwight questioned suspiciously.  
Duke hesitated, then spoke. "Prue told us yesterday that there is an exceptionally large thinny in the North Woods. That may be why the things that occur in that part Haven happen."  
"How big is it?"   
"The word monstrous was used."  
"Yikes."  
"Yeah, yikes. Prue said she used it once and it took everything she had to close even a tiny hole."  
"Vince doesn't have any record of a thinny there."  
"No one knew about it, except Prudence and her family--and Mara and William."  
"So? He's off in the Void where he belongs, and Mara's dead," Dwight retorted, and then sobered, seeing Duke's face. "She _is_ dead--right?"  
"That's what we're hoping," Duke said. "That was the thing that happened yesterday. Prue recovered an artifact yesterday, that she'd hidden from William and Mara. When she showed it to Audrey--Audrey slipped, somehow," he said. "She remembered what that artifact was for. Maybe it was a lingering memory Mara left behind."  
"Or maybe Mara's just playing possum--she's done that before," Dwight said grimly.  
"I know," Duke said. He couldn't believe he'd just stood here and told Dwight all this, but they all needed to be on their guard in case the worst case scenario came to pass.  
"Audrey's getting hold of Charlotte today--maybe she knows how to tell if Mara's still hiding somewhere inside of Audrey. Either way, we have to know."  
Dwight nodded. "I agree. And what happens if she is?"  
"Prue says she thinks she may be able to cast her out. So again, Dwight, don't overload her. We might need her help."  
Another nod. "We will keep it to no more than five a day for the time being. Prudence says she feels she can take on that much." He exhaled, and looked at Duke.  
"Thank you for telling me all this, Duke," he said.  
"I think we all need to get past this keep-everything-a-secret thing," Duke replied. "It's how we've all ended up in this mess in the first place."  
Dwight gave one final nod and then turned and thundered down the gangplank, and he opened the door for Prudence, who had been waiting patiently down below. She looked up at Duke through the passenger window, her face somber as Dwight drove away.  
Duke went back inside, and got ready to start his day.  
As he passed what was now Prue's room, he noticed the silver strongbox sitting on her bureau, and the book that had been wrapped with oilskin was now uncovered.  
Curious, he drew closer, looking at the book. Prudence's writing was so neat and precise it looked almost as though it had been printed by computer.  
He glanced down at it, and made to close the book when a name caught his eye-- _Mason_.  
He picked up the book, and examined it closer.  
_They laid my beloved Isiah Mason to rest today, the passage read. After the funeral procession left, I stood by his grave and I told him that I loved him dearly, and shall always love him for eternity. I tell him that he did not die childless, that the daughter I bore belongs to him and not my husband; but it is a secret that I shall take to my grave._  
 _I tell him that his death at the hand of that bastard William shall not have been in vain; that I will fight them to my last breath, to rid this place of their evil._  
Duke was floored, to say the least. Prue had had a lover named Isiah Mason, and he wondered if he were part of Jennifer's line. Mason was not an uncommon name; it could just be an incredible coincidence.  
He shut the book, and left the room to finish getting ready to go into The Grey Gull.

* * *

 

A few hours later, Nathan and Audrey knocked at the door of a hotel room, and it was answered by Charlotte.  
"Hello, Audrey, Nathan," she greeted. "What's wrong?" she questioned, seeing their faces.  
"Charlotte--we think there may be a possibility that Mara might not be dead," Nathan said.  
"Wha-why would you say that?" Charlotte blurted, clearly shocked at Nathan's statement.  
"Because I had a memory of hers surface yesterday," Audrey put in. "It happened when Prudence--"  
"Hold on," Charlotte interrupted. "Who is Prudence?"  
"Prudence Stillwater," Nathan answered.  
"Did you say _Prudence Stillwater_?" Charlotte gasped.  
"Yes, I did. Why?"  
Charlotte went pale. Concerned, Nathan helped her sit down on a chair, and Charlotte looked up at them.  
"Prudence Stillwater?" she got out. "She's alive?"  
"Yes," Audrey spoke. "She washed ashore in a big silver box a few days ago. She can cure Troubles, Charlotte," she went on. "In fact, she--"  
"Prudence does not cure Troubles, she takes and storehouses them," Charlotte said. "She's like Duke--only worse."  
"What do you mean, worse?" Nathan asked, not a small amount of concern in his face.  
"Prudence does not merely store Troubles, she can use them like weapons," Charlotte said. "That in addition to being able to do some very powerful magic. Now-what happened, _exactly,_ yesterday?"  
Nathan and Audrey quickly sketched out the events, of Prue controlling the roots, of showing Audrey the artifact, and the memory of Mara's wanting it because of the thinny.  
Charlotte's expression grew more and more aghast at each revelation, and Audrey was practically trembling at the thought that Duke was back in Haven all alone with one of the most powerful witches that ever existed, according to Charlotte. And she was collecting Troubles for God only knew what purpose.  
"Do you know what is so special about this thinny, why Mara and William would want it so bad?" Audrey said.  
Charlotte nodded.  
"That particular thinny is known as Auriole's Axiom," she replied. "It is the exact point where both our worlds and the Void converge. Were that thinny ever to be fully opened-it would be the equivalent of pulling the plug out of a full tub of water."  
"Bad," Nathan gulped.  
"Catastrophic would be a better term," Charlotte said. "For both our worlds," she said, pouring herself a glass of water and taking a long drink before she spoke again.  
"And now I have news of my own for you," she told them. "I read about a murder that happened in Marengo, North Carolina two days ago. According to the police report, the driver of a sedan was murdered by a blonde-haired blue-eyed man. He was last seen driving north."  
"What does that have to do with all of this?" Audrey questioned.  
For answer, Charlotte unfolded a paper and handed it to her.  
"This is the police sketch of the man they said committed the murder," Charlotte said. "Look familiar?"  
This time, it was Audrey and Nathan's turn to look pale.  
The man in the police sketch could only be one person.  
_William._


	17. Chapter 17

**17**

 

Audrey, Nathan and Charlotte wasted no time in heading back to Haven.  
Audrey's heart thumped against her ribs. William had found the open thinny, and now he was back in this world.  
"Nathan, slow down," Audrey scolded weakly.  
Instead, Nathan turned his red bubble light on, and hit the gas. He had to get back to Haven, to find Duke, and most of all, protect Audrey.  
_What happens when William gets back to Haven?_ he thought. He knew without a doubt that William was making his way there, if he weren't there already.  
_Can he make her turn back into Mara again?_ It was a thought he didn't want to have; Mara was dead and gone, Charlotte had told them. But the events of yesterday were also playing through his mind, a hundred different scenarios of what would happen when William caught up with them again, none of them good. Not to mention Prudence. If she was still so angry about Mara, even though she'd seen and witnessed that she had changed, that she was Audrey, what was going to happen when she came face-to-face with the guy who'd Troubled her in the first place?  
Audrey had been steadily trying to reach Dwight, but his phone kept going to voicemail.  
"Dwight, it's Audrey," she talked to the message for the fifth time. "I need you to call me, and I need you to make sure there's someone at the Gull and on board the _Rouge_. I need you to take Duke and Prudence into protective custody-but separate them," she finished. "We'll explain when we get there, we're headed back now." She hung up.  
"Charlotte--do you think he could make--her--come back?" Nathan finally asked, unable to bear the torment.  
"I don't know," Charlotte said slowly. "It's imperative that we get to Haven first. I need to see Prudence. Given what you've told me about her, she's collecting Troubles. I think she may be building an arsenal."  
"Like a chimera," Nathan muttered.  
Charlotte nodded. "Exactly. A Troubled person who can pull up any number of Troubles to use as a weapon."  
"You think she's going to use them against Haven?" Nathan questioned.  
"I think she's doing it to use against you and William," Charlotte replied.  
"But we can't be affected by Troubles," Audrey said.  
"No, remember when--no, you don't," Nathan trailed off.  
"What, Nathan?" Charlotte asked, anxious. "It might be important."  
"When Duke still had all those Troubles in him--he affected Mara, somehow," Nathan pointed out. "He split her and Audrey off into two people. And when he had that Nonsense Trouble, she couldn't understand him. They affected her as well as us."  
"His Troubles had mutated to the point even people from our world could be affected by them," Charlotte breathed. "Does Prudence know that?"  
"I don't think so, not unless Duke told her," Audrey said, blanching at the thought of Prue relieving Duke of that particular Trouble. If she took that Trouble on, Prudence would be unstoppable.  
"Drive faster, Nathan," Audrey urged.

* * *

 

The day had remained gray, and rain had begun to set in, damping down the leaves on the ground as Prue and Dwight crunched through them to the little house set on the edge of the woods.  
They could see several people waiting around anxiously outside the house, one woman covered over in a heavy coat, her face obscured.  
Rory Palmer was there also, and he walked up to them.  
"Miss Crocker," he said, presuming that as she and Duke were related, they shared the same surname. "I wanted to apologize for the other day."  
"Accepted," Prue replied. "Your friend had died, and it was the heart speaking, not the head."  
"Is this her?" a man asked, his voice nervous.  
"My name is Prudence," she addressed the group. "And I have come to help you. Understand now that I can help you, but only five for today. As I take your curse, I will also take it on, for a short while," she explained. "So there will be some time between one cure and the next, or I am simply transferring the curse from one person to another," she went on. "Who among you is the worst afflicted?"  
"That's Marjorie," Dwight explained, motioned to the bundled-up woman. "It's a Medusa Trouble-anyone Margie looks at turns to stone."  
"Come," Prue smiled gently, and led her into the cabin, closing the door behind them.  
Dwight felt his phone buzz for the umpteenth time, and saw all the missed calls from Audrey.  
He walked away a short distance from the little gathering and dialed her phone. "Hey Audrey-what's up?"  
"Dwight, where are you?" Audrey asked without preamble. "Is Prudence there with you?"  
"Yes," Dwight replied. "She's starting the cures. She's with Marjorie Dane right now."  
"Dwight, William found that thinny in North Carolina--he's back," Nathan cut in.  
"Crap," Dwight muttered.  
"Don't let her cure anymore people. She doesn't just take Troubles, she can manipulate them," Audrey told him. "Just--get her and take her down to Haven PD until we can figure out what to do. And have Duke brought in too--but don't let them be together."  
"Why?"  
"I'll explain it when we get there," Audrey finished, and hung up.  
He saw the door open, and Marjorie step out. She moved the hood from around her head, and her husband smiled.  
"There's my girl," he said, and she threw herself into his arms, crying tears of happiness.  
Dwight headed back to the group at a quick trot, and up the steps to the cabin.  
"Do not enter!" Prudence called from inside.  
"Prue, it's Dwight. Look, I hate to cut this short, but something's come up," he said to groans and protests from the gathered people. "I have to take you down to police headquarters, there's a situation."  
"What's happened?" Rory demanded.  
"I got it handled, for now. If I need you, you'll be the first to know. We'll get everybody fixed, I promise. Just not today, so go on back home."  
He turned his attention back to the cabin door, open a fraction. "Prue?"  
"Yes?" her voice faint.  
"How long do you think it will take you to recover?"  
"I do not know. Her curse was incredibly strong."  
"She could use my cloak and glasses," Marjorie offered. "I don't need them anymore."  
"Thanks, Margie," Dwight replied, and took them from her. He then inserted just his arm in the door, and felt Prue take them from his hand, her fingers brushing lightly against his hand, making his skin tingle.  
A few moments later, Prue emerged, bundled up tightly in the cloak, her eyes obscured by the glasses. Dwight put his arms around her, and hustled her back to his truck.

* * *

 

At The Grey Gull, Duke was collecting drink glasses from the back patio and was about to head inside when he heard a board above his head creak.  
He knew that Audrey and Nathan had gone out of town to go talk to Charlotte, so whoever was up there wasn't supposed to be. He set the glasses down, and crept silently up the staircase that led to Audrey's apartment.  
He reached the top, and saw that the door to her apartment was standing slightly ajar.  
"Pretty brave to try to knock over a cop's apartment," he said to himself, and got a firmer grip on the crowbar he'd gathered up.  
He peered cautiously in the door, seeing no one. He was about to enter when he was unceremoniously hauled inside by his shirt front, and thrown into the floor.  
Duke started to scramble back up, but a large and heavy foot pinned him to the ground, crushing the air out of him.  
He looked upwards, following the foot to its owner, a very large angry-looking man. Next to him was a smaller, frizzy-haired man, his mouth twisted in a cruel smile.  
"Well, well, Duke Crocker," he heard a voice he'd hoped to never hear again, and William's smiling face swam into his range of vision. "Looks like you didn't die after all. Well, not yet, anyway. Where's Mara?"  
Duke would have answered, but his vision was blacking out from the lack of air.  
"Here now," William scolded. "That's no way to treat an old friend, help him up."  
Two two men hauled Duke up to his feet, as William dusted off Duke's shirt with his hand.  
"There now, that's better," he smiled in his evil choirboy manner. "Now, let's try this again. Where's Mara?"  
"Go to Hell," Duke growled.  
William pouted at his response, and then drew back and hit Duke as hard as he could in the face, knocking him cold.  
"Bring him along," he told the two. "We'll need him to help find my girl."


	18. Chapter 18

**18**

 

Dwight was driving Prudence back to Haven PD, when Laverne's voice came out of his police radio. "Hey, Chief."  
Dwight picked it up. "Go ahead, Laverne."  
"We got a call from the Gull. Stan was en route to get Crocker when one of the servers said she saw two guys stuffing him in the back of a blue sedan. Said she couldn't get a full plate number, they took off too fast. But she did say it had Carolina plates."  
Dwight pounded the steering wheel. "Dammit!" he swore.  
"What does that mean, Dwight?" Prudence asked. "Someone has harmed Duke?" she questioned, her voice gaining an edge.  
"Somebody's taken him, Prue. Somebody bad. Somebody really bad," Dwight said, dialing Audrey's phone.  
"We're too late--William's already grabbed Duke," he said grimly when she answered the phone.  
Prudence gasped. "William? You said he was gone!"  
"There was an unsecured thinny, and he found it," Dwight explained. "He probably took Duke to use as a bargaining chip in exchange for Audrey. He wants to turn her back into Mara again."  
"He must not be allowed to do so," Prudence said.  
"Well, I agree, Prudence, but what can we do against him?" Dwight said. "If we try to hurt him, we hurt Audrey. They're--joined, somehow, or they were before."  
Prue thought for a moment.  
"Take me back to Duke's ship," she said. "There are some things there that I need."  
"William might be there with him."  
"I take it William does not know that I have returned either," Prue replied.  
"That's right, he doesn't," Dwight answered. "What can you do against him, Prue? Is your Trouble like Duke's?"  
"I have explained to you how my Trouble works," Prue said.  
"No, no, I mean, can you affect him?"  
"I don't understand. How do you mean affect? William and Mara created the Troubles, they cannot be controlled by them."  
"No, when Duke still had all those Troubles bottled up inside him, he affected Mara with them," Dwight informed her.  
"Do tell," Prue murmured thoughtfully, flexing the hand she'd inflicted the cut upon the previous evening.  
Dwight paused at a stop sign, and Prue rolled down the passenger window, seeing a dog. She whistled at it, and the dog looked toward the sound, wagging its tail.  
Prudence removed her glasses, gazing at the dog, who panted happily and walked away. She pulled off the cloak and set the glasses down on the passenger seat before looking back up at Dwight.  
"I guess you've absorbed that Trouble," he smiled.  
"Yes, it would seem so," she replied, and then sobered. "I am sorry," she said.  
"Prudence, you've done nothing to be sorry for," Dwight replied, puzzled.  
"No, I am sorry for the action I must take," Prue answered sadly, and placed her hand on Dwight's arm.  
Dwight's eyes grew instantly heavy, as though he'd been awake for days on end. He still had enough sense to put the truck in park before they had an accident.  
"What did--you do?" he slurred.  
"It will only last a few hours," Prudence said apologetically. "It is an old Trouble I absorbed before my incarceration in the box. It causes deep, heavy sleep. You will not be harmed, and will wake in a few hours."  
"A few hours...might be...too late," Dwight sighed as his eyes closed and his head dropped forward.  
Prue gently brushed her hand over Dwight's hair, and climbed out of the truck, setting off in the direction of the pier, chanting as she walked. A few more steps, and she vanished from sight.  
A few seconds later, she reappeared at the pier where _The Cape Rouge_ was moored, and went on board.  
She set to work, swiftly, gathering the items she needed, thrusting them into a pillowcase she had scrounged up from her bed.  
There was a noise, and Prudence whirled around, a knife at the ready.  
Nathan was there, his gun drawn.  
"Whoa, easy, easy," he said. "Prudence, are you all right? Where's Dwight? He was supposed to take you to the police station."  
"Dwight is well. Sleeping, but well. William has taken Duke," Prue said. "I must try to get him back. Do not try to stop me--I do not wish to hurt you but I will if I must."  
"Prudence?" Charlotte called, and then stepped forward. "Prudence, is it really you?"  
Prudence appeared to be at a loss momentarily, and then regained her senses.  
"Charlotte?" she questioned, her eyes wide as Charlotte came forward, smiling, before the two women embraced. Prue held her out at arm's length.  
"Duke was right-you look not a day older than the last I saw you," Prudence said.  
"Nor do you," Charlotte smiled. "Prudence, we want to help you."  
"William has--"  
"William has Duke as a hostage, we know," Charlotte said. "But Prue, you can't just randomly attack and hope you get him. People could be hurt. Audrey could be hurt as well. We don't know if she and William still share that bond. If they do--"  
"Then he just might be able to turn her back into Mara again," Nathan uttered, holding Audrey's hand tighter in his own.  
"William on his own is bad enough. If he can summon her again, there will be no end to the suffering in Haven," Prudence said, her tone matter-of-fact. "They hurt dozens, if not hundreds, before, even my own. Or do you not remember watching my brother die of that illness they inflicted? All my medicines, all my magic, for naught," she went on, tears sparking at her eyes.  
"Duke reminds me a lot of Josiah," Charlotte replied. "But slow down, Prudence. Let us help you. Don't fly off the handle into battle," she urged gently. "Remember what happened to Isiah when you tried to take William on alone."  
"Wha-who's Isiah?" Nathan asked.  
Prudence was silent a long moment. "He was--my love," she said softly. "He was my life."  
"Prudence and Isiah Mason were lovers, before she met Daniel," Charlotte explained. "She thought he was lost at sea, and married Daniel. Isiah returned after three years of being held captive by the Spanish to find Prudence married with a family."  
"We tried to forget our love; but we could not," Prudence continued the story. "I had even given him a daughter named Sarah, but she died of fever before her first birthday. A punishment brought on by our infidelity, no doubt," Prue said quietly.  
"But the day he died, Isiah and I were--together--in the forest, when William came upon us. He told Isiah that he and Mara knew that I was the keeper of the portal, and they wanted the key. Isiah said they would have me over his dead body," she went on. "And then--William put his hand on him, and Isiah was dead," she finished. "I escaped them that time. But they sought me out eventually."  
She looked to Charlotte. "Dwight has told me that Duke was able to affect Mara," she said, glancing at Audrey, who nodded. She'd hoped that Prue wouldn't find that out, fearing what might happen if she did.  
"He--split us," Audrey told her. "I was separated from Mara. But I was dying outside of her, and Charlotte joined us together again."  
"And when I did--Mara died, in effect," Charlotte said gently. "That is why Duke released those Troubles, because she'd altered his Trouble to do so if she did."  
Prudence frowned, thinking over Charlotte's statement.  
"Just because he could affect Mara, I do not know if it means that he can affect William," she answered at length. "Duke cares for Audrey. Love is one of the most powerful tools in magic. I believe it factored into his ability to do that to her. However, I do not think that will be the case here. Does anyone here love William?"  
"I'd love to see him dead," Nathan remarked.  
"So your answer is no, then," Prudence half-smiled. "I do not love him either. And I do not know if I could affect him now. But," Prudence continued, "I may be able to find where he has taken Duke."  
"How do you mean?" Audrey asked.  
"I showed Duke the events of what happened in the past the previous evening."  
"You touched his blood, and he made contact with yours," Charlotte replied.  
Prue nodded. "Yes."  
"Which means-?" Nathan prodded.  
"Which means that Prudence may be able to track down where William has taken Duke," Charlotte told them. "In order for her to be able to show him the past, he linked up psychically with her. They may still have that bond, if he were the last person whose blood she touched."  
"No, there was a woman this morning, Marjorie Dane. I took her Trouble. But Duke is my kinsman-the pull should still be strong. However, this still does not explain why Audrey recognized the key to the portal."  
"I think she may have some small access to random pockets of Mara's memories," Charlotte said, a small sad smile on her face. "But she isn't there, Prudence."  
"Who knows a child better than a mother," Prudence remarked, touching Charlotte's shoulder gently. "We must talk after this is over with."  
"Well, if you can find Duke, please, Prudence, try to do so now," Nathan said, anxious to start the hunt.  
"There are some things you must know about William," Prudence replied. "He is quite cunning."  
"We know, believe me," Nathan retorted.  
"And he has no remorse about inflicting injury or death to achieve what he desires."  
"Aware of that too," Nathan grumbled. "He actually Troubled a four-month-old baby."  
"Monster," Prudence growled. "Very well--I shall find him."  
She took a small sachet from her skirts, opening it, and unlocked the strongbox, removing a smooth spherical object.  
"You're going to find him with a crystal ball," Nathan said dubiously.  
"You live in this town and you question me?" Prudence asked gently, a smile curling her lips. Nathan returned it shyly.  
Prudence sobered, and held the crystal toward the sunlight, the refraction casting rainbows over the room, which began to shift and change shape, and Audrey saw Duke in a room, tied and gagged to a chair.  
"Where are they, Prudence?" Charlotte asked.  
Prudence was not listening. Instead, her eyes were focused on the image of Duke in the chair, his eyes half closed, the side of his face bruised and purple.  
"Duke," she whispered.  
Duke's eyes flew open, looking around him to see if someone were there.  
"Can he hear us?" Nathan asked.  
"Nffan?" Duke mumbled through his gag.  
"We are coming," Prudence reassured. "Show me where you are," she coaxed.  
Duke struggled with the ropes that held him, but they were tied securely.  
"Show me in your mind," Prue said gently. "Focus on it clearly. Be calm, there is nothing to be afraid of," she soothed. "We will be there soon."  
The image changed, a tumble of dense woods, an old house, and just beyond it, a huge rock that stood in the middle of the woods, overgrown with moss and vines.  
They could see William instructing his goons while they pulled the forest debris from the stone. Even from here, they could see the carving of the Guard emblem in the stone.  
"The Axiom," Charlotte gasped.  
"Of course he would be there," Prudence said grimly.  
Audrey began to think on an idea that she'd been germinating all morning. Duke had told her that Prue feared Mara was pretending to be Audrey, using her as a 'Trojan horse', she'd said.  
_What if we can get William by doing the same in reverse?_ she thought.  
"Then let's give William what he wants--Mara," Audrey said.  
"Have you gone crazy?" Nathan asked, agog.  
"If Mara could pretend to be me, why couldn't I pretend to be her?" Audrey said, and began to tell them her idea.  
"It's too risky," Nathan said when she finished.  
"I concur," Prue put in. "However, it is the best plan."  
"Well--what if he touches her again?"  
"I will be there too, Nathan," Charlotte replied. "If he thinks I've cured Mara, all his attention will be focused on us, and you can get Duke free."  
"What about Prudence?"  
"She's our ace in the hole," Audrey said. "He doesn't know she's back."  
She smoothed Nathan's hair. "I'm not going anywhere."  
"You hope," Nathan mumbled.  
"We all hope," Charlotte said. "It's not much, but it's all we have. So let's go to the Axiom."


	19. Chapter 19

**19**

 

William came back into the house, and went into the room where Duke was being held.  
Duke was drifting in and out of consciousness; he figured William had probably given him a concussion, and he struggled to stay awake.  
"Hey there," William said cheerfully, patting Duke's face harder than Duke would have liked. "Still with me? You don't wanna miss all the fun, do you?"  
Duke mumbled an obscenity involving William's parentage through his gag.  
"You know, if you keep this attitude up, it's only going to hurt you worse," William informed him. "Now, from what I've been able to piece together, Mara rigged you to blow out all those Troubles your family's been building up. I bet that was glorious when you finally did let go," he grinned. "You gotta hand it to my girl, she does nice work."  
Duke merely glared at him. His head was throbbing painfully and he was afraid he was going to be sick for a moment, but it passed.  
"Damn, I must have hit you harder than I thought," William remarked, examining Duke's eyes. "Not to worry though, Crocker," he went on, reaching into his pocket. "I got just the thing to fix you right up."  
Duke didn't need to be fully conscious to see what William had in his hand. It was an aether ball; and God only knew what type of twisted Trouble he was about to be infected with.  
William crushed it, and advanced on Duke, who was trying to pull away, when William noticed the sky outside was rapidly darkening, thunder rumbling overhead.  
He paused, looking out of the window, a slow smile creeping across his face.  
"Looks like we're going to have company," he smiled, and curled his hand up, the aether once again coiled into a ball. He tucked it back into his pocket, and after he jerked the gag from Duke's mouth and untied him, dragged him along by his handcuffs as they went outside on the porch.  
Nathan's Bronco pulled into sight, parking a short distance away from the house.  
"Aw, not him again," William groaned at the sight of Nathan's angry face through the windshield. "You two really are a pain in my ass, still holding onto hope you'll get your precious little Audrey back somehow," he mocked Duke. "She's done for, get over it."  
"Make it look good, Nathan," Audrey whispered from behind the driver's seat.  
"I just hope you know what you're doing," he answered back, and climbed out of the Bronco, slamming the door.  
"Detective Wuornos," William called. "Long time no see. How are you enjoying Mara's company?"  
"You and that bitch can both go crawl back under your rocks," Nathan answered heatedly.  
"Where is she?"  
"Here," Nathan snapped, jerking the back door open, and hauling Audrey out. She was in chains, just as she had been when she was Mara. She'd even thought to change her clothes into attire more suitable. She forced a smile at William, hoping her expression looked happy to see him.  
Charlotte climbed out of the other side of the Bronco, and William's gleeful grin soured immediately.  
"Well, if it isn't Mommy Dearest," William toned.  
"William, let Duke go," Charlotte ordered.  
"Not on your Nelly. Let Mara go and we'll think about it. You see, Duke's important. He can open the door."  
"Duke can't open the Axiom, he doesn't have the strength to do it," Charlotte told him.  
"He will before we're done with him," William informed her. "That key's been found. We rig him just right, he should be able to track it down in nothing flat. Sweetheart," William called to Audrey. "You just head on over here and--" he trailed off as the skies grew ever darker, lightning crackling through the skies.  
"You wanna cancel the dramatics there, Charlotte?" William asked in mock seriousness, and then looked at Audrey. "Or is that you, honey?"  
"Not me," Audrey said, trying to make her voice sound as hard as she could, but William's eyes narrowed marginally.  
"You sound different, sweetheart," he said cagily.  
"Mommy here's been trying to cure me," Audrey ground out, jerking her head at Charlotte. "Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes keeps trying to pop back up."  
William tensed up. He knew very well that if that were the case, Charlotte and Audrey could make Mara forget all over again.  
"Let Mara go," he ordered, crushing the aether ball in his hand again, this time hovering his palm next to Duke's face. "Or he'll be dead before he hits the ground."  
The lightning crashed to the ground all around them, a chill wind picking up through the trees as a form emerged from the forest, dressed all in black.  
The two aether-men stepped forward, and the figure raised an arm, sending the lightning crashing into them, both screaming before they disintegrated back into aether-balls, retreating toward William and reforming behind him.  
"Wow," William said. "That's a hell of a trick--whoever you are."  
"Thou knowest me, William," Prudence said, raising her head. "Thee knows me quite well, as I recall."  
"Ho-lee Cow," William answered, aghast. "Prudence Stillwater, in the flesh. Still alive and kicking, I see," he went on. "Well, you kind of didn't have a lot of choice, did you, with that Eternity Trouble we gave you."  
"Troubles can be ended," Prudence remarked. "So can you."  
"That's what you think, lady," William retorted, but Prudence held up her hand, and the aether-men hesitated.  
"I have not come back to fight with you and Mara, William," Prudence told him, taking her hood down.  
"Oh?" William said. "Then why are you here?"  
"I've reconsidered," Prudence replied.  
"You-you've reconsidered?" William perked up, interested. "You hear that, Mara? She's reconsidered. Then let's have that key, Prue."  
"Release my great-grandson first," Prudence said, her voice deadly calm.  
"Bet you didn't know that's your great-grandma, did you?" William poked Duke in the ribs. He smiled at Prudence, who gazed back, her expression neutral. "That Trouble-Killer curse of yours? That's all from her--she's Crocker Zero, you might say."  
"Prudence, don't do it," Duke urged.  
"No, Prudence, don't," Charlotte begged. "You know what will happen when you open the Axiom."  
"If I do this for you," Prudence replied carefully, ignoring Charlotte and Duke's pleas. "I want your solemn vow that you and she will leave not only Haven, but this realm as well, for all of eternity," she finished.  
"Honey, you give me that key, and we are so gone from this hellhole," William promised. "Right, Mar?"  
"Right," Audrey answered. "We're gonna blow this pop stand."  
"In more ways than one, William answered. "All right, Prudence," he said, letting go of Duke's handcuffs. "You have a deal. Now send Mara over."  
Nathan grudgingly undid the handcuffs, and Audrey rubbed her wrists as she shoved past him.  
"Just remember what I told you," Charlotte whispered as she walked by her.  
"Audrey, don't do this," Duke urged softly as they passed one another. "If _I_ know it's you, then he _definitely_ knows it's you."  
"Listen, Duke," Audrey whispered. "When you get over there, turn back and plead with Mara not to leave you."  
"What?"  
"Trust me."  
"I do--it's him I don't trust," he replied as he joined Nathan, Prudence and Charlotte. "But all right."  
Audrey drew closer and closer to William, and he opened his arms to embrace her, when they heard Duke behind them.  
"Mara--after everything we've meant to each other, you're just going to--leave me?" Duke said, a voice full of emotion. "Even--even after-- _Colorado_? A-and the boathouse? You told me you loved me, that you were over William. You told me you'd take me with you."  
William paused, squinting at Mara.  
"What's he on about?" he asked.  
"It's nothing," Audrey answered, pretending to squirm uncomfortably. "The aether's made him crazy."  
"Mara," Duke pleaded, even managing to produce tears in his eyes. Audrey had to hand it to him-he might have gone relatively straight, but Duke Crocker could still run a great con.  
"Did you--and he--" William accused.  
"It was magical," Duke sighed. Nathan glared angrily at him, but Duke didn't break.  
"It didn't mean anything," Audrey shrugged, still trying to play it off nonchalantly, but she could see the hurt in William's face.  
"You _slept_ with him?"  
"Oh, and I suppose _you've_ been faithful for 500 years," Audrey shot back in her best Mara imitation.  
"Honey, I was," William protested. "It's only been you, Mara. Only you. They're trying to break us apart," he went on, stepping closer to Audrey. "But it's not going to work, is it angel?"  
Charlotte stepped forward.  
"What about Deidre, William?" she asked. "Or didn't that mean anything either?"  
Audrey glanced back over her shoulder at Charlotte, who gave her an imperceptible nod, and she turned back to William.  
"Deidre?" she shrilled. "You and Deidre?"  
"Mara, honey, it didn't _mean_ anything," William placated, advancing on Audrey once more, who jerked away from him.  
"Don't you touch me!" she glared at him, her teeth clenched and angry.  
William looked frustrated, but relented.  
"Mara, honey. We can sort all this out later--after Prudence opens the Axiom," he said soothingly.  
"Yeah, well, till then, you keep your mitts off me!" Audrey yelled back in a voice so like Mara's Nathan actually looked afraid.  
Suspicion flared in William's eyes, but he nodded, and backed off, his hands raised.  
"All right, angel. We've both made mistakes, you made one with--that," he flapped a hand at Duke, who returned his gesture rudely. "And I made one with Deidre."  
"One," Charlotte said derisively, and Audrey glared him down again before stalking off towards the woods, her legs trembling with relief.  
"All right, Prudence," William called, squaring his shoulders. "Let's do this thing."  
"Prudence--don't," Charlotte urged.  
For answer, Prudence gestured at the ground, and the roots sprang to life, enmeshing Charlotte, Nathan and Duke in them before forming a cage around them.  
Audrey was shocked, but quickly recovered.  
"Looks like you really have changed your mind," she smiled, trying to mask her worry.  
"Well, good," William beamed. "That takes care of one headache, at least. Don't have to worry about outside interference from you lot."  
"Prudence," Duke pleaded, his eyes on hers.  
She drew near to them.  
"I must," she whispered. "I know now what I must do. Have a little faith in me, great-grandson."  
She placed her hand on his face where it was cut and bruised. He winced as he felt her press against the cut on his cheek, and she blew gently on his face.  
The bruising faded beneath her hand, and Duke's headache vanished.  
"It will be well," she murmured, and walked toward the woods.  
"I cannot open it until sundown," she told William.  
"Well, that's gonna be in an hour or two," William commented, glancing at his watch. "What's another hour after 500 years of waiting?"  
"What indeed," Prudence answered.


	20. Chapter 20

**20**

 

Vince emerged from the U-Store-Em, slightly disheveled. He'd been through box after box of papers in Reverend Driscoll's locker, with no success.  
Hannah emerged from the next locker, along with Penny Glendower, the mother she'd been reunited with.  
She threw her hands up in disgust, dusty and dirty. She saw Vince looking at her, and she smiled slightly.  
"No luck either, eh?" she asked.  
"No," Vince said, dejected. "Have you been in here recently?"  
"No, not since I put Dad's things in here," Penny replied, puzzled. "Why?"  
"It was done very neatly, but someone's been in these boxes," Vince pointed out.  
"Mr. Teagues?" came a muffled voice from the back of the storage bin, and Bobby, Hannah's adopted son, emerged, one last box in his arms.  
"I found this inside a box of my old stuff from my science project," he told Vince. "That's not mine," he indicated the wooden box.  
"Yours, Hannah?" Vince questioned.  
Hannah shook her head. "No, that used to be in Dad's office," she said. "You know, Selectman Knoll had asked me about this box, he said Dad had promised it to him," she went on. "He said it was an antique."  
"Just looks like a wood box to me," Penny put in.  
Vince's ears pricked up. _Aha_ , he thought.  
"It is rather old. Look, I have to go back into town," Vince replied. "I would be glad to drop it by the selectman's office later. I know you and he aren't on the best of terms," he finished in a lower voice.  
"I don't like him either," Penny answered. "Never did."  
"He can be--abrasive," Vince agreed. He didn't like the selectman any more than Penny and Hannah either. And he would give the selectman the box--once he and Dave had finished going through it.  
He thanked the ladies for allowing him into the locker, and carefully set the box in the passenger seat before he drove back to he and Dave's house, where Dave was anxiously awaiting him, along with Dwight.  
"Vince, I'm glad you're back," Dwight began as soon as he came in the door. "We--" he paused, seeing the box in Vince's hands. "What's that?"  
"I think it's what we've been looking for," Vince said. "Hannah says the selectman was asking about this box after the Rev's death. Said he 'promised' it to him."  
"Which makes me think that there's something in here that neither of them wanted anyone to find," Dave finished for him, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses.  
Vince set it on the table, and the three peered closer at it.  
"It's old," Dave said. "Really old."  
"Now, what were you going to say, Dwight?" Vince asked.  
"Audrey called me earlier today. Prudence was starting the cures today."  
"Did it work?"  
"Oh, yeah, she fixed Marjorie Dane," Dwight said, seeing relief in Vince's face. "And then Audrey called, told me to take Prudence and Duke down to Haven PD into protective custody. William has found his way back to Haven. She also said to not let Prue and Duke be together. Prudence can take Troubles--and use them, apparently."  
"Oh dear," Dave paled.  
"Yeah. Anyway, before we could get to Duke, William got him. Nathan and Audrey said they were going to check the _Rouge_ to see if Prudence was there."  
"Why wasn't she with you?" Vince questioned.  
Dwight frowned. He hadn't expected Prue to jump him like she did.  
"Prue got the drop on me," he admitted. "When she heard that William had abducted Duke, she hit me with some old sleeping Trouble she'd taken before she got put into the box. When I came to, she was gone, and now I can't get hold of anyone on the phone, not Audrey, Nathan, Prue or Charlotte."  
"What's _she_ here for?" Dave burst out.  
"She knew Prudence, back then," Dwight told them. "Audrey thought that maybe a familiar face from way back when might help to convince Prue that Audrey's not Mara anymore. But what we didn't know is that Prue is apparently really a witch," he continued. "What's the term they used--hedgeitch?"  
"Hedgewitch," Vince corrected. "As Prudence told us, she was a healer and a herbalist, intimately connected with the Mik-Maq. Most hedgewitches are not bad, they're practitioners of nature-magic. But if William is involved, this is bad, Dwight. We must try to find them."  
"Duke told me something about Prudence said. She claims there is a very big thinny in the North Woods. Only she knew where it was, or how to open it. Mara and William wanted to know where it was too. When she wouldn't tell them--they accused her of witchcraft."  
"And gave her an Eternity Trouble as proof of their claim," Vince said grimly. "Poor dear. Well, my advice would be to take some of your fellow Guardsman to search the North Woods to look for them. That is most likely where they will be."  
"You and Dave coming?" Dwight asked.  
"Not just now. We're going to examine this, and we'll join you after. Keep me informed if you find them?" he asked, peering over his glasses at Dwight, the request sounding more like an order.  
Dwight nodded. "Yeah. Same there, huh?" he gestured at the box.  
"Of course."  
"Right," Dwight finished, and ducked back out of the door.  
"Well, now that we're rid of him," Dave muttered, turning his attention back to the box. "Let's see what the Rev and the selectman didn't want us to find."

* * *

 

Audrey pretended to still be fuming at William, but secretly keeping an eye on Duke, Nathan and Charlotte in the cage.  
Prudence had gone off into the woods, and was currently circling the Axiom, directing William, who instructed his aether-men to do as she asked, moving a stone here, clearing brush there, until the entire area had been freed of debris.  
Seeing them all occupied, Audrey crept toward the root-cage where her friends and her mother were being held.  
"What's going on out there?" Nathan whispered.  
"They're clearing the area around the stone," she answered _sotto voce_.  
"So she's really going through with it," Nathan said flatly. "She going to open that thinny."  
"What happens when she does?" Duke asked Charlotte. "Are we all going to die?"  
"I don't know if we will actually die," Charlotte spoke. "Haven will be pulled into the thinny. We just won't--" she grappled for the word. "We just won't-- _exist_ anymore," she got out. "All the rules of time and space won't apply anymore."  
"Basically, we're going to turn into an Escher drawing," Duke replied.  
"No. It'll be more like washing a blackboard-we just won't exist anymore," Charlotte told him.  
"That's what William wants," Audrey gasped. "He wants a clean slate. To start he and Mara's 'work' all over again."  
"With an unlimited supply of aether to do it," Nathan finished grimly. He saw William come out of the woods.  
"He's coming," he hissed to Audrey. "You and he are crazy, lady," he yelled at her. "You're gonna kill everybody here in Haven!"  
"Not kill. You just won't be here anymore, that's all," Audrey covered quickly.  
William grinned at them.  
"I see Mara's been filling you in," he answered cheerfully. "Yep, I think this little experiment of ours has failed. So we're going to start all over again."  
"Does Prudence know what you plan to do?" Nathan asked.  
"She thinks she's getting rid of us," he grinned, gesturing back towards Prudence, who was walking around the stone. "And even if she does know, it's not like she's got a hell of a lot of choice. Got you three as insurance."  
His eyes, cold and blue, landed on Charlotte.  
"And then we'll go back to our world," he went on in a grimmer tone. "I'm going to show the Council that aether can be used to be beneficial."  
"You're going to open the Axiom from the other side," Charlotte gasped. "William, you can't! People will die."  
"Change is always ugly, at first," William told her. "But it will all be for the greater good. Isn't that what you're always going around saying about Mara and me?" he went on, his voice gaining a razor's edge. "Put her in the Barn, for the 'greater good? Throw _me_ off into the Void for the greater good?" he screamed at her.  
"I wanted to help her," Charlotte argued. "She had aether poisoning!"  
Duke caught his breath and then held it, hoping William hadn't heard her slip and use the past tense.  
But he did.  
"She _had_ aether poisoning?" he asked. "Are you better now, _Mara_?" he asked unctuously. "Or has Mommy succeeded in curing you?" he snarled, grabbing Audrey's arm.  
"Let her go!" Nathan yelled, he and Duke grabbing at William through the bars.

* * *

 

"Aha!" Dave said triumphantly, finding the small pin that concealed the hidden compartment. He pulled the pin out, and the side of the box popped open.  
Just as Duke had found the list of people that had died from the Troubles a few years ago, Vince and Dave found a small square of folded up paper, yellowed with age, and they carefully unfolded it.  
"Set here by my hand on this date, the First of October, in the Year of Our Lord Fifteen Hundred and Fifteen do hereby witness this Pact that all Parties listed herein do hereby agree that all will affirm in a court of Law that Prudence Rebecca Crocker-Stillwater to be guilty of the crime of Practicing Witchcraft," Dave read aloud. "In return, all shall be pardoned of Perjured testimonies, Signed, Emmett Rassmussen, Ezra Halleck (and spouse), Moses Knoll, Aaron Driscomb, the Right Reverend Amos Flagg, and--Ephraim Stillwater," he finished, looking at Vince. "That's what they wanted to keep hidden--they all lied on the stand. Including Reverend Flagg!"  
"Didn't Prudence say her father-in-law didn't approve of her marriage?" Vince questioned.  
"Yeah. What do you want to bet his name was Ephraim?" Dave said. "Pretty extreme way to break up your kid's marriage."  
"This is the paper," Vince breathed. "Betsy was right--Prudence was railroaded! What do you want to do with this?"  
"I think we need to run an extra edition of The Herald with this," Dave replied.  
"The selectman won't like that," Vince said slyly.  
"Who cares what he won't like," Dave grinned.

* * *

 

Out in the North Woods, the struggle continued between Duke, Nathan and William.  
Audrey had managed to wrest herself free, and picked up a tree branch, clobbering William over the back of the head with it.  
He grunted, staggering and Nathan and Duke succeeded in handcuffing him to the branches of the cage.  
William roared his rage, and Duke stuffed his bandanna into his mouth, William's muffled grunts and curses now down to a more manageable level.  
The aether-men advanced menacingly.  
Charlotte put her hand up at them, and they paused, still glaring angrily, but lingering.  
"Can you stop them?" Nathan asked.  
"I can hold them back," Charlotte said. "But Audrey, you have to do it. You should still be able to control them."  
"I'm scared to," Audrey whispered, and Nathan understood.  
"She's not there anymore," he assured her. "I got faith in you, Parker. You can do it."  
Audrey looked from Nathan to Duke, who nodded, and smiled.  
"You got this," he told her.  
"I can't hold them back anymore," Charlotte said, and Audrey turned around to face them.


	21. Chapter 21

**21**

 

Dwight spotted the sedan with North Carolina plates, and pulled off the road alongside it. It looked as though it had been abandoned.  
While he was glad to find the car, he had bigger concerns at the moment, so he radioed in for Forensics to come and take over so that he could continue in the search.  
Rory Palmer was with him. The late afternoon sun was stretching long shadows through the forest, giving it a decidedly Halloween feel, and both men were glancing around nervously as they walked.  
All around them, they kept hearing sounds of something moving in the woods, although neither could see any evidence of squirrels or other wildlife causing it.  
"What the hell is that rustling sound?" Rory muttered.  
"I don't know," Dwight answered in a low voice. "Just stay sharp, okay?"  
"Don't worry," Rory replied.

* * *

 

"There," Vince said, picking up the first print of the newspaper as it came off the press.  
On the front page was a photograph of the document and the headline which read in prominent letters: _INNOCENT WOMAN WRONGLY CONVICTED IN WITCH HUNT FRENZY_.  
"Historical Document Offers Proof That Prudence Stillwater Was Wrongly Accused," Dave read proudly. "Signed contract by prominent Haven families of the time reveals that local Havenite woman Prudence Crocker-Stillwater was framed for the crime of sorcery in 1515 because her father-in-law did not approve of her marriage to one of his sons, and conspired with others to have her brought up on the charge of witchcraft. The tragedy was compounded more so by the fact that said families suppressed the evidence for hundreds of years, even possibly going as far to have murder committed to keep their dark secret," he continued. "Forensic evidence has proclaimed that the document is, in fact, authentic. That'll get 'em going down at the City Council."  
"I would just like to see Prudence get her name cleared," Vince said.  
"It'll help Betsy out too," Dave answered. "People will be standing in line to buy her book now."  
"Talked to her awhile ago. She's already rewriting it. She also said she may know the reason why they did all they did it."  
"Oh? What was it?"  
"Apparently, Prudence had a former love before she met her husband. It was thought he'd died at sea. Some years later, he returned home to Haven."  
"To find his girlfriend married with a family."  
"Yes. Perhaps the flame wasn't quite extinguished between he and Prudence."  
"Oldest motive in the world," Dave remarked. "Jealousy."  
"Yes, well, I think that it is now time that we joined in the search, don't you?" Vince said, folding up the copy of The Haven Herald into his coat pocket.  
"Absolutely," Dave agreed, and the two set out.

* * *

 

"What the hell is that sound?" Rory asked in exasperation.  
"If I knew, I'd tell ya," Dwight remarked irritably. He was beginning to regret having brought Rory along with him.  
The rustling in the leaves increased at the tone in his voice, and Dwight quickly realized what it was. He'd heard the story about how the roots had taken over the Keegan place, and they weren't but a few clicks from there. Vince had told them they reacted to anger, so Dwight drew a few calming breaths.  
"Rory," he said in a kinder tone. "Just keep calm, okay. Long as we stay cool, whatever's out there won't bother us, all right?"  
"What do you mean? Is it a bear or something?" Rory asked, a note of fear creeping in.  
"No, it's not a bear. These woods are--alive," Dwight told him, regretting it the instant he said it, because Rory looked as though he'd been galvanized.  
"The woods are alive?" he shouted.  
The rustling grew louder, accompanied by something that sounded like wood groaning, and Dwight saw movement out of the corner of his eye.  
_Be like Buddha_ , Duke had told him once. He'd been joking at the moment, but it sounded like damn good advice right now. Dwight drew a few calming breaths, and gently put a hand on Rory's shoulder.  
"Calm down," he said softly. "The woods react to anger and fear. If you're calm, nothing will happen."  
But Rory was panicked, and he took off running blindly back the way they came, crashing through the woods. He quickly disappeared from sight, but Dwight heard Rory's strangled screams.  
He started towards the sound, already knowing he was too late to save the hard-headed Guardsman.  
Dwight reached the little clearing in the woods. He saw what had looked like a struggle, and found blood, but no trace of Rory.  
"Dammit, Rory," he muttered. Knowing there wasn't anything else he could do, he turned back and continued back in the direction the compass indicated.

* * *

 

Audrey felt Nathan's steadying hand at her back, and she drew herself to her full height.  
" _Stop_!" she ordered.  
The aether-men came to a dead standstill.  
William struggled to pull the bandanna out of his mouth, but a right hook from Duke stunned him into submission.  
"Duke, don't hit him, you could hurt Audrey!" Nathan yelled.  
"I didn't feel it," Audrey said.  
"Hit him all you want then," Nathan cracked. "I may join you."  
The aether-men still stared at Audrey, gauging her, waiting to see what she would do.  
Prudence emerged from the woods.  
"Enough!" she shouted, the word reverberating through the woods, and the aether-men disintegrated back into little black balls. They made to flock toward Audrey, but Prudence held a hand out with a box within it, and they settled within it.  
"You can control aether," Charlotte gasped.  
William too, seem stunned by this new revelation, and the little group stared at Prudence for a long moment before she finally spoke again.  
"Let him go," she ordered.  
"Are you nuts?" Nathan asked. "He's dangerous."  
"I need him," Prudence replied. "If you want him to go away, let him go. I need his help."  
"You can't trust him, Prudence," Charlotte said. "He wants to destroy this world and ours!"  
"What must be must be," Prudence remarked.  
" _That's_ your answer? _Que sera sera_?" Nathan asked drily.  
"Silence," Prudence gestured at Nathan, and although Nathan's mouth was moving, no sound came forth.  
Duke also began to say something, and found that he too could no longer speak. He gestured angrily at Prudence, his face angry.  
"Guys," Audrey said, going to them. Relieved to see they were otherwise fine, she turned back to Prudence.  
"Fix them back," she ordered.  
Prudence looked at her, her silvery eyes cold.  
"No," was all she said. "We need no further outbursts."  
In the distraction, William managed to jerk the bandanna out of his mouth, and work himself free of the cuffs.  
"Thank you, Prudence," he answered, walking back towards her. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like my guys back, please."  
"I think not," Prudence told him. "You rely too much on them. I need your help now, William, not theirs."  
"I figured you'd want Duke to help you, since he's _family_ ," William cracked.  
Prudence glanced toward the cage, where Duke was watching her intently, trying to figure out what she was up to.  
"Duke has already given me what I need," she commented, and William grinned at her answer.  
Surreptitiously, Nathan nicked his thumb, spreading the drop on Duke's hand. The blood didn't vanish, and Duke's eyes didn't change. The pair looked at each other questioningly, and then at Audrey and Charlotte.  
Audrey saw their action, and looked concerned. She started to speak, but Charlotte put a finger to her lips, as though she understood Prudence's motives for doing so.  
_She took his Trouble_ , Audrey thought. I'm not really sure why she did it, but I guess we're going to find out in about half an hour, she reflected, watching as the sun slowly began its descent over the forest skyline.

* * *

 

Dwight could hear the commotion, and drew closer.  
Ahead, he could see the rock, and Prudence, along with William and Audrey. He saw the cage containing Nathan, Duke and Charlotte and he began to rise, but he saw William turn back, and he ducked back down quickly.  
Behind him, he heard the sounds of people walking in the woods, and he hid himself further in the leaves.  
"You really think it's at Guardsman's Rock?" he heard Dave asking someone who could only be Vince.  
"Seems logical," Vince was saying. "I never knew it was the opening to a thinny though!"  
"Guys," Dwight spoke from the bushes, and both men jumped a foot.  
"Jesus, Dwight, you about gave me a heart attack!" Dave started to yell, but Dwight shushed him.  
"Prudence and the others are just ahead at the rock," Dwight told them. "I don't know what she's planning, but she's got Charlotte, Duke and Nathan in some kind of cage, and she's got William running around loose up there with her and Audrey."  
"Audrey," Dave gasped. "Has she--changed back?"  
"I don't think so," Dwight replied. "But that isn't saying that she won't. I think that's what William wants Prudence to do."  
"Well, we'll just have to convince her otherwise," Vince answered firmly, and continued forward, going into the clearing.  
Dwight started to warn him, but resigned himself to the fact that like it or not, they were all just about to join William's little party for God only knew what.


	22. Chapter 22

**22**

 

"Prudence," Vince called as he, Dave and Dwight appeared out of the woods.  
"What is this? Senior Citizen Day?" William groaned. "Prue, wouldja mind doing something about them?"  
"Vincent," Prudence answered, ignoring William. "What brings you here?"  
"We found the evidence, Prudence," Vince told her. "We've run the document, front page in the newspaper. You're going to be proven innocent after all."  
"Your father-in-law conspired with the others to have you brought up on charges--his name was Ephraim Stillwater, right?" Dave questioned.  
"Correct," Prue replied. "Why would Father Ephraim do such a monstrous thing?"  
"Maybe he found out about you and Lover Boy," William grinned, and Prue glared at him over her shoulder.  
"Or mayhaps someone told him of it," she remarked, and William put his hands up, feigning innocence.  
"Wasn't me," he said. "Maybe you should ask my little partner-in-crime over there about it."  
"Even if Mara did, I don't remember it," Audrey protested. "I'm not her anymore," she went on, facing William directly, and was surprised to see a mix of anger and anguish in his face, because he knew she was telling the truth. "Charlotte didn't plan on me winning out over her when she recombined us, but I did."  
"Prudence might be able to fix that," William said.  
Out of the corner of her eye, Audrey could see Nathan straining to scream at the top of his lungs for Prue not to do that, but no sound emerged.  
"Prudence, I have the document with me," Vince told her, moving closer to her. "Believe us, it's the truth. You will be exonerated."  
"Could just be a forgery," William commented.  
"I shall judge for myself what is real and what is not," Prudence informed him coldly. "We shall see it for ourselves."  
"How can we?" Audrey heard herself asking.  
"Um, what about the thing here," William protested.  
Prudence gestured with her arms, and the forest fell silent.  
Audrey glanced up, gasping. There were birds, frozen in mid-flight over her head, and leaves that were falling from the trees seemed suspended in the air motionless.  
The group stared around themselves for a few moments, and then back to Prudence.  
"Time has ceased for a brief instant," Prudence said. "Another curse I once relieved a poor soul of."  
She reached into the little pouch tied to her belt, and withdrew a handful of powder, that she tossed into the air. As it fell, it seemed to coalesce into a large oval shape, resembling a mirror.  
Prue spoke a few more words, and the oval went pitch black for an instant, and then the images of another time and place appeared in it.  
An older man was speaking to a younger man that Audrey thought kind of looked like Stan, and they were arguing.  
"Thee must be rid of her," the older man was telling the younger. "She is an adulteress, and a witch besides. She most likely cast a spell upon you to marry her in the first place! Thou must denounce her as a harlot of Satan!"  
"That is ridiculous, Father," the younger man said. "Prudence is steadfast and true. She helps those who are in need of her assistance. She will not even take money for her services!"  
"And is Isiah Mason one of those she helps?" the older man questioned, his tone almost patronizing.  
"What of Mason?" A note of doubt in the son's voice.  
"Thou knowst her heart still belongs with him. Thee hast seen her face when he is near her. That is not the face of a wife thinking of the love she has for her husband."  
"Lies spread by gossiping fishwives."  
"I have seen her with him with mine own eyes, rutting together there in the forest like wild beasts! Would thee call thy own _father_ a fishwife?"  
"So he did see us that day," Prudence got out.  
The son gasped in horror, and the father seized upon it.  
"I have already spoken with Master Halleck and the good Reverend," he went on, smug in the fact that he'd won the argument. He'd be rid of this unsuitable creature and her foul family soon enough. "They have all agreed to speak out against her," he assured his son. "Thoust can be free of her and still retain thy honor," he finished, patting his son on the shoulder.  
The image faded, and Prudence looked sad as the mirror-thing slowly turned back into the dust, and once again Audrey could hear the sounds of birds, and the wind in the trees.  
"What happened that day, Prudence?" Vince asked gently.  
"Isiah and I were--together in the woods, as he said," Prudence began softly. "I thought I had seen a glimpse of someone in the woods, and I had thought it to be Father Ephraim. He denied having been there when I questioned him about it." Her shoulders sagged. "But I see that he told a lie." Her face grew grim. "That is the day that Isiah died. A short time later, we encountered you," she whirled on William.  
"I'm sorry you lost your boyfriend, but I did ask you to tell me how to open this, and I'd have left you two alone," William told her matter-of-fact. "However, if it's any consolation, he wasn't supposed to actually _die_ from that Trouble, but sometimes, these things happen."  
"These things happen," Audrey repeated. "It's wrong, William. What we did to these people was _wrong_!"  
"No, whatever the hell Charlotte's done to you is wrong," William argued, grabbing hold of Audrey's arm. "But maybe we can get old Prue to fix you right up," he went on. "How 'bout it, Prudence? Think you can tune Mara back in instead of the all-Audrey, all-the-time channel?"  
"Perhaps," Prudence answered. She glanced at the sky, seeing the sun like an orange ball lowering itself into the treeline. They could see the silhouette of the moon beginning to appear. It would be the first night of the full moon this evening, and Audrey wondered if that was why William had chosen today to return.  
"Prudence," Dwight cut in, drawing closer to her. "I don't know what William's promised. But he's a liar. He's not going to go away from here without a fight."  
"Prudence," William said solemnly. "You do this, and we are out of here. On my solemn word."  
"We? I'm not going with you," Audrey told him. "Not now, not ever."  
"I think that all depends on Prudence here," William replied. "I think she can get you to change your mind."  
Dwight began to charge at William, and soon found himself along with Vince and Dave enmeshed in the roots.  
"Why are you doing this?" Dave yelled. "We came to help you, Prudence!"  
"I know you have come to help me, and it is appreciated most sincerely," she answered sadly. "But this is something that must be done. I am truly sorry."  
Audrey glanced back at the cage where Nathan, Duke and Charlotte were being held. Nathan looked near tears, and Duke looked deeply grieved. Charlotte was unreadable, her eyes steadily on Audrey's before they turned back to Prudence, who stepped to the outer ring of the stones that had been set back into place.  
She reached into her robes, taking out the totem doll. She made a few gestures around it, her hands caressing it as she spoke so softly she could not be heard. She then lifted it over her head, facing the stone, her voice growing louder.  
The wind began to pick up as she chanted, the words unintelligible to Audrey's ears.  
"It's Mik'Maq," she heard Vince shouting to Dwight and Dave. "She's calling on the elemental spirits to open the doorway!"  
"Prudence, don't do it!" Audrey cried.  
"Go for it, Prue," William called, still holding on to a struggling Audrey.  
Audrey noticed the leaves on the ground around the stone began to slowly swirl around it, their speed increasing as Prudence's tone of chanting did, spinning crazily around in the whirlwind, the words seeming to reverberate through the trees, the air, even the earth itself.  
A light began to appear from under the stone, slowly spreading in a circular pattern around it, the light encompassing Prudence within it. She seemed to be struggling, and she looked to William.  
"I cannot--I am not strong enough!" Prudence cried. "I need thy help, William!"  
William dragged Audrey forward with them, the three of them now within the light.  
"Audrey," Nathan finally got out, his voice strangled.  
"Give me thine hand," Prudence told William. "She cannot leave from within this light."  
William released his hold on Audrey, and placed his hand in Prudence's, who smiled.  
Audrey turned, trying to run, unable to break through the light, just as Prudence had said.  
"Prue, don't!" Duke cried out.  
The light coming from under the stone grew brighter, and began to creep up the rock, making it disappear as the doorway began to first slowly appear and then widen.  
"Hold on, honey," William grinned at Audrey. "We're goin' home."  
"Yes. But you are going alone," Prudence replied, and suddenly Audrey found herself shoved back hard, landing on her backside outside of the circle of light that surrounded Prudence and William.  
She scrambled backward, her eyes on what was happening in the light circle.  
"What'd you do that for?" William shouted at Prudence. He seemed to be trying to let go of her hand, but her grip was as firm as iron on it.  
Prue looked at him. Audrey could see her eyes had become so silver they were nearly white, her pupils two little black dots floating in infinity.  
William gazed back at Prudence, his jaw defiant.  
"I'll come back," he said. "I always find a way. I will get her back."  
"I think not," Prudence said, and put her hand against William's neck, and he staggered back. He still could not break the circle, and he doubled over in pain, screaming out in pain and frustration.  
"How dost it feel?" Prudence asked him. "The agonies you inflicted upon others for sport and amusement?"  
"How-could-you-do that?" William gasped. "You _Troubled_ me! _How could you do that_?"  
Prudence gazed back towards the cage, the roots loosening, setting Nathan, Duke and Charlotte free.  
"I could not," she answered. "But he could."  
William looked enraged as though he meant to strike Prudence, and she faced him once more, pulling the hood of her robe over her head, obscuring her face from the others.  
William gasped, shaking and trembling. He seemed to be stiffening, and Audrey realized that Prudence had pulled up Marjorie Dane's Medusa Trouble.  
_That's why she took Duke's Trouble!_ she thought. _So that she could turn them on William!_  
Charlotte, Duke and Nathan raced forward to Audrey, the both of them hugging her close.  
"Audrey--Audrey," Nathan said, holding her tightly. She could feel the damp of tears on her neck. "I thought I was going to lose you there for a minute, Parker."  
They looked toward the stone, where William was now a solid gray color, as though he'd been carved out of marble.  
The wind was increasing, the doorway's width ever-increasing, and Charlotte went forward to the light-circle, taking Audrey's hand in hers.  
"We have to help her close it," she shouted over the wind. "If we don't, we'll all go into it!"  
"I don't know how!" Audrey cried.  
"Focus on closing the door," Charlotte told her. "That's all it is-it's just like aether. Intent."  
Audrey loosened herself from Nathan's grasp, and she walked toward Prudence, who pried her hand from William's stony grasp, her strength spent. She pushed at him, and statue-William tumbled into the open doorway, end over end, disappearing for what they all hoped was forever.  
Charlotte got on one side of Prudence, and Audrey on the other, each taking a hand.  
"Just focus," Charlotte said, and the three of them stared at the doorway, each woman willing it to close again.  
Slowly, the light-circle began to recede, the wind dying down until it had returned to normal and the last of the light disappeared back beneath the rock.  
Prudence swayed slightly, and Duke raced forward to catch her before she fell.  
Duke and Dwight gently lowered her to the ground, and Charlotte knelt down beside her.  
"You did it, Prudence," she smiled gently.  
Prudence smiled faintly, and then sobered.  
"You may wish to withhold your gratitude," she said, her voice weak. "In order to subdue him, I had to release some of the Troubles I had previously cured. I think yours may have been among them, Dwight."  
Dwight looked crestfallen a moment, but quickly recovered.  
"It's okay, Prudence," he answered. "You saved everybody today--it's a small price to pay."  
"We're going to figure out how to stop the Troubles for good one of these days," Duke told her firmly. "Maybe next time we'll be successful. Especially with you here to help us out."  
Prudence nodded, and closed her eyes, exhausted.  
"Thank you for your help--Audrey," she murmured, and for the first time, Audrey felt like Prudence finally believed that they were on the same side.  
"Here, let's get you home," Duke told her, and gathered her in his arms, the little gathering making their way towards Haven.  
Nathan put his arm around Audrey's shoulders, looking out at the town as they emerged from the forest.  
"Well, looks like Haven's still standing," he sighed.  
"At least for today, anyway," Audrey grinned, and Nathan held her close, kissing her temple as they made their way home once more.


	23. Chapter 23

**23**

 

In the two weeks that followed, Audrey and Prudence slowly became friends.  
Audrey was actually looking forward to Halloween this year--Duke was throwing a huge party at the Gull, and since Vince's article in the paper, all anyone was talking about was the revelation that Prudence was innocent.  
Even Beverly Keegan had been impressed--enough so that she'd hired a playwright to work with Betsy, and also a professional acting troupe to act out a short play based on Prudence's witch trial, rather than someone to scare people on a hayride.  
Betsy's book sales skyrocketed, and her newest book, _The Killing of Prudence Stillwater,_ was being courted by a major publisher. One critic called it 'the most insightful look into the sixteenth century he'd ever read', and went on to say 'the author writes as though she witnessed the events described therein firsthand'.  
Audrey had grinned at that--Prudence had spent many an hour with Betsy, telling her all about life in sixteenth-century Haven, while Betsy scribbled in her notebook.  
She remembered Prudence had been bedridden for days after the events at the Axiom, sleeping for long hours on end. Concerned, Duke had Gloria in every day to monitor her, along with visits from Charlotte on occasion.  
"Well? How is she?" Duke questioned anxiously one day as Charlotte emerged from Prue's bedroom.  
"You have to remember Duke; Prudence is over five hundred years old," she told him.  
"You're over a thousand," he pointed out. "Not that you look it," he added hastily.  
Charlotte smiled slightly. "But Prudence isn't from my world, she's from yours. Humans aren't designed to live for centuries, Troubled or not," she went on. "She took a real beating physically and mentally. Basically, sleep, good food, and quiet are what she needs." She looked at him critically.  
"And it isn't good for caretakers to run themselves into the ground either," she said not unkindly. "How are you doing, Duke?"  
"I'm okay," he sighed. He was silent a bit. "My Trouble came back." He chuckled ruefully. "I just can't seem to get rid of that thing."  
"I didn't know--I'm sorry," Charlotte said.  
"It's all good," Duke half-smiled. "Prue told me she felt it was better off in my hands than hers. She couldn't hold onto it and deal with William too. That's why Dwight got his back too."  
"Your respective Troubles are fairly manageable--Lisa's and Marjorie's were impossible for them to have relatively normal lives with theirs," she said not unkindly.  
Duke nodded. He didn't like it, but he, like Dwight, understood. The important thing was that it meant they were rid of William and this time--hopefully--for good.  
Charlotte had ensured that all thinnies were now tightly shut, just in case William ever managed to thaw himself out of his statue state.  
Charlotte and Prudence talked a great deal when she would come to visit. Of what life was like now, and was also working with her, to help her adapt to modern life.  
On the down side however, after that day in the forest, Prudence seemed to have lost her ability to absorb Troubles.  
She tried once to cure Nathan, but all he claimed to be able to feel was a sort of warmth when she put her hands on him, but when she would take them away, the numbness would return. She tried repeatedly, but each time the result was the same.  
Prudence seemed depressed that she could no longer help, even though they all had reassured her time and again that she had averted a terrible disaster that day in the North Woods. She would retire to her room, reading through the books Vincent had brought for her, and a few tomes that had been tucked into the strongbox. What they contained Duke didn't know; she wouldn't show them to him, and the box was always locked out of her presence.  
Duke decided that a Halloween party might be the thing to help bring Prudence out of her funk; and he dragged her along to help with the planning. She was well enough now to be out and around for short periods of time, and he and Audrey would take her out whenever they could.  
Prudence seemed intrigued by the notion of celebrating Halloween. It wasn't really celebrated in her time, and she was surprised at some of the costumes at the store.  
"The woman who wears this garment would surely catch her death of cold," she'd gasped, seeing the sexy Halloween costume lines.  
"It's not colds they're trying to catch," Duke had teased her.  
"I shall never become accustomed to how bold women are these days with regard to men," Prudence had remarked.  
"Women didn't chase men in your day?" Duke grinned.  
"We did," Prudence winked. "But the prey cannot _know_ it is prey, or it will never be caught. You must be more subtle than that," she had told Duke with a sidelong glance, and he laughed.  
Halloween finally arrived, crisp and clear. The party at the Gull was tonight, and promised to be a good time had by all. Or so Duke hoped.  
Duke even took Prudence to the Haven Halloween parade, getting themselves a seat next to Nathan and Audrey close to the bandstand. Nathan got them all funnel cakes, and they watched the costumed revelers parading down the street.  
"Having fun, Prue?" Audrey asked.  
"Indeed," Prudence smiled, watching the children in the town's annual Halloween parade, racing about in their costumes, a sad smile on her face.  
Audrey knew Prue must be thinking of her own children, gone so long ago, and she gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She hadn't gotten to see James grow up, and in light of the fact that she herself had lived so long, Audrey couldn't help but wonder if there had been other children she'd given birth to, lost to time, the memory of them buried somewhere within the Barn, now gone forever.  
After the parade, they all went back to the Gull for lunch, and Duke was supervising the last of the decorating for the party tonight.  
Prudence looked around her at all the streamers and bunting, the animated monsters that wailed and talked when you walked by them, and she headed back towards Duke.  
"Samuel and Elizabeth would have loved this holiday," she said to him, and he put his arm around her.  
"Yeah," he said softly. "Jennifer was kind of fond of it too. That reminds me," he went on. "Do you think that she and Isiah might have been related?"  
"Possibly," Prudence remarked. "He may have been a distant uncle--Isiah did have brothers." She glanced up at him. "You miss her dearly still, don't you?"  
"Yeah. I don't think a day goes by that I don't think about her," Duke replied. He forced a smile. "But she wouldn't have wanted me to sit around moping. We got a party to host tonight, Prue. Did you and Audrey go to get your costume yet?"  
"We did," Prue replied, indicating the large shopping bag sitting on the table. "I chose it myself."  
"What is it?"  
"Why, great-grandson, that would spoil the surprise if I told you," Prue pointed out. "But I think you might could guess what it is," she went on, pulling out a black pointed hat and putting it on. Duke laughed.  
"Are you going to fly across the moon on your broom tonight?" he teased.  
"That would be a sight, would it not?" Prue smiled. "Sadly, I am not capable of flight. But I may still do something tonight."  
"Oh? What?"  
That I will not tell you. You shall simply have to wait and see," Prue smiled, and Duke grinned. "Now--we have sweets to hand out," she finished, seeing the trick-or-treaters as they made their rounds in the Trunk-Or-Treat. "So--man up, as Audrey says."  
"She's rubbing off on you," Duke grumbled, and Prudence playfully nudged him.

* * *

 

Upstairs from the Gull, Audrey finished checking her costume in the mirror while Nathan changed in the bathroom.  
She hadn't dressed up in years, but this year, she felt like enjoying the party. She was Audrey Parker, not Lucy Ripley, or Sarah Vernon, or Mara, or any of the other personalities she'd been through the years. She was truly her own woman now, and tonight, Audrey Parker wanted to have some fun.  
Nathan emerged from the bathroom in his Sherlock Holmes cape and deerstalker hat.  
"How do I look?" he asked, sticking a ridiculously large pipe in his mouth, doing his best to look like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's literary hero.  
Audrey came out of the kitchen, and Nathan's jaw slacked.  
She was dressed in a tight deep blue cheongsam, slit all the way up to her thigh on one side, with her blonde hair tucked under a black bob wig, with high heels and a long cigarette holder.  
"Tell me what I vant to know," Audrey purred.  
"Name it," Nathan said. "So long as you're wearing that! Wow, Parker. You make a great Mata Hari."  
"I may have been Mata Hari for all we know," Audrey grinned, and Nathan hugged her.  
"Nah. Besides, she got executed."  
"True," Audrey admitted. "Well, are we ready?"  
"Let's go," Nathan said, offering his arm, and they headed down the stairs to the Gull, where the party was already starting.  
"So what are you supposed to be? Zorro?" Dwight asked Duke. He was dressed as an Old West gunslinger, his flak vest behind the striped waistcoat he was wearing.  
Duke was all in black, with knee-high boots and and a mask, with a dummy flintlock pistol tucked into the waistband of his sash.  
"I'm a highwayman," Duke said. "But everybody keeps thinking I'm Zorro. Or a pirate."  
"I know what you are supposed to be, Duke," Prudence smiled. "You resemble Josiah even more in that costume."  
"Prue, you look amazing," Dwight admired, and Prudence modeled her costume. She wore a long black dress with puffed sleeves that grew tighter towards her wrists, with green iridescent panels sewn into the skirt that swirled around her when she moved. With her long dark hair braided neatly down her back and topped off with a broad-brimmed pointy hat, she truly resembled the Witch of the North Woods.  
"Thank you, Constable," Prudence smiled nicely. "And you look most dashing in your attire as well."  
Prudence looked particularly striking tonight--Audrey had helped her with applying makeup, which set off Prue's silvery eyes even more. She was mesmerizing, and Dwight couldn't take his eyes off her.  
"Prudence--would you like to dance?" Dwight asked.  
"I am unaccustomed to your ways of dancing," Prudence replied. "But I am willing to learn."  
"Scuse us, Duke," Dwight grinned, and escorted Prudence out to the dance floor.  
Duke grinned and shook his head, and looked up to see Audrey and Nathan coming in.  
His jaw dropped at the sight of Audrey in her costume, but he quickly recovered. Nathan looked like a badly-dressed community theater portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, but at least he tried, Duke figured.  
"Oh, you're a pirate," Nathan said, seeing Duke. "What a surprise."  
"He's supposed to be a highwayman," Audrey grinned.  
"Wow, Audrey," Duke admired. "Just--wow. Nathan--good effort," he managed, and Nathan glared.  
"Where's Prudence?" Audrey asked. "Doesn't she look great?"  
"Sasquatch sure seemed to think so," Duke remarked. "They're over there, dancing."  
"Dwight Hendrickson? Dancing?" Nathan goggled, fishing for his phone. "Gotta record that for posterity."  
Duke and Audrey grinned at him and then each other, remembering Duke taking Nathan's picture while he was dancing, drunk off his butt when he'd gotten fired as Chief.  
"Prudence? Are you all right?" Dwight questioned her as they danced together.  
"I am well, thank you," Prudence replied, looking as though her thoughts were elsewhere.  
"You're a million miles away," Dwight remarked. "What's on your mind?"  
Prudence was silent a long moment, and then spoke.  
"It was 500 years ago today that I was sentenced to die," she said softly. "I can still remember the feel of the rope around my neck, that moment of being suspended in the air for a brief instant when the trapdoor fell out beneath my feet. I remember hearing the sound of my neck breaking," she went on. "And then I revived."  
"Not the happiest of memories," Dwight said kindly. "Hopefully, now, you can make some better ones. You have a family again. Granted, Duke's not much, but he is family. And you have friends now, Prudence."  
"He is family that I am proud to claim as mine," Prue told him. "And I have very good friends indeed," she smiled, squeezing Dwight's hand affectionately, and he returned her smile.  
They strolled toward the railing, gazing out over the water for a few moments, and then Prudence spoke again.  
"I was reading through a journal that Duke showed me not too long ago," she went on, thinking on something.  
"The Crocker journal," Dwight said. "I've seen it. It lists all the Troubles the Crocker line extinguished. Or had extinguished before he--blew up."  
"Yes," Prudence hesitated. "There are also other passages in there that concern me. Did you know that there have been other Masons that have died instead of marrying Crockers?"  
"What? I don't follow you, Prudence," Dwight said. Duke had never mentioned any of this before. "Here, let's sit down," he motioned to a couple of empty chairs by the fire pit. "Now tell me what you mean."  
"In the journal, there are passages that refer to other Masons falling in love with Crockers through the years. But all died before the marriages could take place."  
"Where is that written?" Dwight asked.  
"It isn't written. They are symbols, drawn on the sides of the pages. Duke does not know about it, because his father never taught him to read them. The symbols stop appearing around 100 years ago, so I daresay that his father and grandfather did not know of them either," she continued. "My Isiah and Duke's Jennifer were not the first and last Masons to die. There were others."  
"Why did they die?"  
"They were guardians," Prudence told him. "They were sentinels of the doorways between worlds."  
"Jennifer did find the doorway that let Audrey back into our world," Dwight said. "And she opened the door when we threw William back into the void. Then she died. Her heart just--stopped, as far as we could tell."  
Prudence nodded. "It takes so much from them to do the deed, that they die. When--she--Mara, or Audrey, would return from this Barn that Charlotte and Byron constructed, it is the Mason line that knows of her impending return. They can feel her approach. They are the ones who have to open the doorways to allow her back into this world."  
"Jennifer could hear Audrey when she was in the Barn," Dwight gasped. "And she found the door that let her back in. But she never said anything about knowing when Mara came back as Audrey!"  
"It may have been one of her ancestors that opened it for Audrey," Prudence said. "Jennifer was orphaned, was she not?"  
"Yes, she was," Dwight admitted. "Prue--why tell me all this? Have you told Duke?"  
"No, I have not. It was not until recently that I understood about the symbols, their meanings. I need your help this evening, Dwight," Prudence finished, standing up. "Will you help me?"  
"Of course," Dwight replied, standing up and holding her hand in his. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but didn't know how.  
Prudence seemed to understand, and she covered his hand with her other.  
"Thou art a good man, Constable," she smiled, and pecked his cheek.  
She opened his hand, gazing at its lines, her fingers trailing along his palm delicately, and she smiled at what she saw before she closed it back.  
"Do not fear, Dwight. There will soon be someone for you to love, very soon indeed. But my heart belongs to another."  
She sobered. "If you no longer wish to help, I understand."  
Dwight swallowed his disappointment, but nodded agreement.  
"I'll help you, Prudence," he promised. "Now what do you want me to do?"  
"Bring Duke to this place before midnight," Prudence told him, pressing a paper into his hand. She moved away, crossing over the deck, the green panels in her dress shimmering in the moonlight.  
"Well, where are you going?" Dwight asked. "Do you want me to give you a ride to get to this place?"  
Prudence smiled genuinely. She walked over toward the storage shed. She opened the door, extracting a corn broom, and Dwight's jaw dropped.  
"As you can see, I have made my own arrangements," she smiled. "I told Duke earlier that I could not fly, but in truth, I was afraid he would want me to take him along."  
"He would too," Dwight replied. He couldn't believe his eyes, but it was actually happening, as Prudence held the broom at arm's length, and released it, the broom hovering about three feet from the ground. She settled herself on it, and looked back at Dwight.  
"Have him there by midnight. Fare thee well, Dwight," she called, rising above his head, and then she was gone.  
Dwight looked up into the night sky, watching as she swiftly disappeared from view.  
"What are you staring at? Where's Prudence?" Duke asked as he came out onto the deck.  
"She flew away," Dwight said.  
"What?"  
"She got on a broom...and she--pfft," Dwight gestured skyward with his hand.  
Duke looked surprised for a moment, and then faintly annoyed.  
"That little liar-she told me she couldn't fly a broom," he grinned. "Did she say anything else?"  
"She did. She wants us to meet her at these coordinates," Dwight told him. "And she told me a whole lot more. I'll fill you in on the way. She wants you there before midnight."  
"Hey, you guys are missing Vince Teagues dancing," Audrey said, coming out onto the deck. Seeing their faces, her smile disappeared. "What's going on?"  
"Dwight tells me Prudence just flew off on her broomstick,"Duke said wryly. "Now she wants us to meet her at--he glanced at the paper, and his expression grew serious.  
Audrey glanced at the paper, not understanding.  
"I don't get it," she puzzled. "What's so special about this place?"  
"This is the place where I buried Jennifer," Duke replied softly. "Squatch, you said Prue told you a lot more."  
"I'll fill you guys in on the way there," Dwight promised, and the four of them hurried out to Nathan's Bronco, peeling out of the parking lot.

* * *

 

Prudence landed, and walked toward where Charlotte was waiting for her.  
"Prudence? Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.  
Prudence nodded, her face serious.  
"I am a woman out of my time," she said quietly. "I have seen many things in my short time here. Some good, and some terrible."  
"If you do this--you will die," Charlotte told her. "It'll take everything you have left."  
"I am aware of that. I should have died centuries ago, Charlotte," Prudence said. "My happiness was denied me. But I have a chance to give my descendant happiness of his own. I caused my line to carry a terrible curse for five hundred years," she went on. "It is the least that I can do for him."  
Charlotte nodded, her face sad. The two women embraced one final time, and Prudence stepped forward into the circle that Charlotte had drawn out around the little plot with its hand-carved stone that simply read JENNIFER.

* * *

 

"Hurry up, Nathan," Dwight urged, stripping out of his gunslinger costume in the back seat.  
"It's just up ahead," Duke said, pointing to the road that led out to the field where he'd buried Jennifer's body. Ahead, he could see what looked to be a strange bluish glow through the trees.  
"What are you doing, Prudence?" he asked no one.  
The glow was growing brighter as Nathan brought the Bronco to a stop and everyone scrambled out, Duke racing across the field, with Nathan and Dwight close behind.  
Audrey did her best, sinking into the ground in her high heels, until she finally pulled them off, running across in bare feet to the clearing, where they could see Charlotte watching Prudence, who had her arms extended high over her head for a moment, and then collapsed in a heap face first onto the ground, the strange glow around her fading away.  
"Prue?" Duke shouted, running to her. She'd fallen directly on Jennifer's grave, and he rushed to her, gently turning her over. "Prudence," he began, and then trailed off, his eyes disbelieving.  
_This isn't real_ , he thought, his eyes full. _I'm dreaming_.  
" _What?_ " Audrey gasped, she, Nathan and Dwight all staring down at the form of Jennifer Mason cradled in Duke's arms. She was wearing Prudence's costume, and she stirred, taking in a breath.  
"Mm," she said, and opened her eyes, looking up to see Duke, who was staring at her, and she gave him a faint smile.  
"Hi," she said softly.  
"Hi," he answered, still disbelieving.  
"Where's Prudence?" Nathan asked Charlotte.  
"She's gone," Charlotte replied. "She--took Jennifer's place."  
"She's dead?" Audrey questioned, and Charlotte nodded.  
"She knew she would die if she did this," Charlotte told them. "But she did it for you, Duke--you and Jennifer."  
"Why?" Duke asked, not comprehending.  
"She said because you deserved to be happy--both of you."  
Jennifer was still lying in Duke's arms, and she stretched her hand up, touching his face. He put his hand over hers, still unable to grasp she was really there.  
"You cut your hair," Jennifer said.  
"Yeah, I did," Duke laughed. He held her to him, feeling the warmth of her body in his arms, her fingers wiping his eyes, and Nathan held Audrey close as she wiped her own.  
"She left you this," Charlotte said to Duke, holding out a paper to him.  
Duke unfolded the paper, still holding onto Jennifer as though she would vanish if he let go.  
The letter read:

_My Dearest Duke_

  
_I apologize for not being able to say farewell to you and the others properly, but we do not always get to say it to our loved ones when they go, so I shall bid my farewells here._   
_When you showed me the Crocker journal, I did not realize until then how many of Jennifer's line were supposed to marry with ours, but so often fate intervened._   
_Masons were unique in their Trouble-because they were the first to experience theirs. Jennifer's line were the ones to know when it was Audrey's time to return to this world from the Barn. They were the ones to allow her back into this realm by opening the door. Jennifer's parents or sibling likely allowed Audrey in._   
_But the effort takes so much of their life force to do so, it often takes it entirely, which is what happened with your Jennifer that day at the lighthouse to cast William out. To open the door once is a great accomplishment; for her to have done it again in such short a time she must be a remarkable young woman indeed._   
_The reason I hid in my room like a rabbit in a burrow was that I was researching my books on how I might restore her to you. I learned of a way, and with Charlotte's help, I will carry out my plans this evening._   
_I inflicted every Trouble I could upon William, save yours and Dwight's. Dwight's curse returning to him was accidental-but I returned yours to you. Your Trouble, however much you may hate it, does serve a purpose. I now have but one Trouble left within me; my own Eternity Trouble. I found a way to rid myself of it--by giving it to Jennifer._   
_I cannot completely transfer it to Jennifer, but it will restore her to a living form, so that she does not appear as a walking corpse. She will not be merely animated flesh, but a living mortal woman again. For me, it will be a sweet release from this form, and I will return to the dust, as do we all eventually._   
_Audrey is part of your world now; the Barn no longer exists, so no more of Jennifer's line should have to perish. And it is my fervent hope that no more of our line does because of the Troubles, and that you and Nathaniel and Audrey will someday find a way to end them for all time._   
_I cherish my memories with you. It is not every woman who can say that she has met her seventeenth-generational great-grandson and I am honored to have known you._   
_I hope that you and Jennifer will be happy together, dear heart. If I see your father, I shall tell him his son is a man he can be proud of. And I pray that I will see my beloved Isiah and my children again when I am no more._   
_Goodbye, my sweet Duke._

  
_All My Love,_   
_Prudence_

Jennifer cradled Duke's face in her hands, her face slightly puzzled.  
"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked.  
"Being there with you at the lighthouse," she murmured. "After that--I don't know. I must have passed out."  
She looked down at herself, her face puzzled. "Why am I wearing a witch costume?"  
"It's Halloween," Duke said, not knowing what else to say. "This is Haven--weird stuff happens," he laughed. "I once came around to find myself wearing a Santa suit."  
"Well, that's not so strange," Jennifer smiled.  
"In July."  
"That is strange," Jennifer replied. "Duke?"  
"Yeah, babe?" he asked tenderly.  
"Can we get up now?"  
"Of course," Duke said, scrambling to his feet to pull Jennifer up alongside him.  
"Hello, Jennifer," Charlotte smiled, coming forward. "How do you feel?"  
"Okay," Jennifer answered. "A little spacey, but okay. Who are you?"  
"I-I'm Dr. Cross. Duke asked me to take a look at you," Charlotte quickly covered.  
"Oh. Are you okay, Audrey? Did we get rid of that William guy?" Jennifer asked. Audrey nodded.  
"Yes, we did."  
"How--how long was I gone?" Jennifer asked. "Did I fall into the Void?"  
"No, not quite," Nathan replied. "It's a long and complicated story, which I'm sure Duke will tell you all about," he finished, glancing at his friend.  
"Later," Duke said, putting his arm around Jennifer. He glanced down toward the marker, hoping to obscure it from Jen's view so as not to confuse her further, but was surprised to see it had changed. It now read PRUDENCE STILLWATER 1484-1515.  
Jennifer turned to see what Duke was looking at.  
"Who's Prudence Stillwater?" she asked.  
"She was my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother," Duke explained. "She was the first Crocker ever to be Troubled."  
"Why is she all the way out here?"  
"Five hundred years ago, the townspeople thought she was a witch," Dwight spoke. "But she was just Troubled. We've been trying to find her grave, in order to give her a proper burial." He looked down at the marker. "She deserves it."  
"Yes," Duke answered quietly, and kissed Jennifer's temple gently. "Yes, she does."  
They turned to go when Duke heard a faint call of 'Mummy, Mummy!'  
Jennifer too seemed to hear it, and they both turned in the direction of it.  
"Duke--look," Jennifer whispered.  
In the distance, he and Jennifer could see the forms of two children, a boy and a girl, running across the grass. They were transparent, and barely visible, but they ran toward a figure that was standing a short distance away, her arms extended.  
A man, also transparent, appeared from the mists rising from the ground. He had a small child he carried in his arms, and the woman took the child in her arms, holding it closely as he put his around the woman, the two kissing passionately.  
She glanced back towards Jennifer and Duke, and Duke could see that it was Prudence, reunited with her family and her Isiah at long last.  
"Goodbye, Granny Prue," Duke said softly.  
The woman smiled back at them, her eyes lingering on Duke's face. Then the figures slowly walked into the mists, and were gone.  
"What are you guys looking at?" Nathan squinted.  
"Nothing," Duke said, Jennifer smiling up at him. "Nothing at all. Let's go home, Nathan."

 

_So that's the end of my story! I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Reviews are welcome!_


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